Last Friday night I had the distinct pleasure of spending an evening watching the youth of Pearl River County display their acting talents.
Over the course of the evening, Picayune’s High Tide Productions and Pearl River Central High School’s Blue Maskers Troupe performed their one act plays.
The students from Picayune performed “Orphan Trains.” Not only do the individual stories tug at your heartstrings, but the students deliver stunning portrayals of young orphans torn from their families.
Pearl River Central students performed “Lady White Snake,” a Chinese folktale about two spirits, white snake and green snake.
The spirits decided to take human form, after which the white snake falls in love.
Now I won’t tell you how the plays end, but I will say that both of these performances brought tears to my eyes and gave me goosebumps.
I remember, during my high school choir days, my teacher told us that two of the utmost forms of compliment are either tears or goosebumps. She felt it was important to convey emotion with our performance and evoke sentimental feelings from the audience.
As a former performer of sorts, I know what is feels like to stand on a stage and perform in front of large groups of people, not to mention competition judges.
I am in awe of the enormous talent each one of these young performers possesses.
Let’s wish them luck this weekend as both schools head to Oxford to compete for a chance to advance to the Southeastern Theatre Conference.
Wouldn’t it be great if both schools from Pearl River County advanced to the conference?
I must give kudos to these extremely talented youth and thank them for sharing their gifts with me and Pearl River County.
I recommend, if you have the opportunity, to attend a play by either Picayune Memorial or Pearl River Central High School.