About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2022)
8A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, March 30,2022 All in This Together: Little Tiger Theatre Co. performs ‘High School Musical Jr.’ Photos by Erica Jones Dawson County News This past weekend, students in the LittleTigerTheatre Co. put on a production of "High School Musical Jr." at the Dawson County High School Performing Arts Center. By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com This past weekend, some of Dawson County’s most talented young performers put on a rendition of Disney’s “High School Musical Jr.” at the high school’s performing arts center. The group of students who performed the show are all part of the Little Tiger Theatre Co. and range in age from fourth to eighth grade, repre senting several schools in the district including Black’s Mill Elementary School, Riverview Elementary School, Dawson County Middle School and Dawson County Junior High School. According to Jordan LeFevre, co-director of the Little Tiger Theatre Co. and counselor at Dawson County Middle School, the students in the show had been work ing and practicing for months in preparation for opening night. “We’ve been working on it since September,” LeFevre said. “We did one show in between, the Christmas show, and then came back to this.” As it got closer to the production opening, the students and director got busier and busier, accord ing to eighth grader Zach Dietzel, who plays the role of Ryan in the show. “Every year around this time it gets stressful, but I’ve met a lot of really cool people,” Deitzel said. “It’s fun; I’m excit ed for the play.” Deitzel’s counterpart in the show was Trinidy Rarick, who is in sixth grade at Dawson County Middle School and plays the role of Sharpay in the musical. According to Rarick, one of her favor ite parts was getting to know the other actors she worked alongside. “All the thespians are really nice and really good to work with; I love working with them,” Rarick said. “Working with Zach as Ryan is very fun also, we have built a very good friendship.” Many of the students in the show have been in other productions before and have experience act ing, dancing and singing. One of these students is Black’s Mill Elementary School fifth grader Austin Martin, who played the role of Chad and said that this was his seventh or eighth production he’s performed in. “I’ve been in every play since the beginning of when they started perfor mances and it’s crazy see ing how far this produc tion has come,” Martin said. “I’m really excited.” For the students that have been in several pro ductions, LeFevre said that it’s rewarding to see how far they’ve come. “The more shows they’re in the better they get, so it really shows when they get to middle and junior high and they’ve done a bunch of shows with us,” LeFevre said. This weekend’s shows were put on by the same group of students, with two different lead casts that switched off from show to show. According to Becca Johnsen, co director of the Little Tiger Theatre Co. and third grade teacher at Black’s Mill Elementary School, the students playing the lead roles in one cast played smaller roles in the other cast, so all the students were on stage in each show. “If a kid is a lead in one cast they’re in the chorus in the other and vice versa, so even when they’re not in their larger role they’re still on the stage and supporting the others,” Johnsen said. “High School Musical Jr.” follows the story of high school students Troy and Gabriella, a basket ball team captain and a brainiac who decide to audition for the high school musical. Patterned after the Disney Channel original movie, the story line explores what hap pens when students break outside of their box and explore hobbies other than what they’re already known for. Charlie McGriff, who is in fourth grade at Black’s Mill Elementary School and played a member of the “jock ensemble” in the show, said that she was excited to be a part of such a big show that she and the other cast members have put so much work into. “I’m very excited,” McGriff said. “This is one of our really big shows and it looks great and everything has really come together really well.” Riverview Elementary School fourth grader Blakeleigh Griffith, who played a thespian in the musical, echoed her co actors’ excitement, saying that she’s both excited and a little nervous too. “I’m kind of nervous, but not really,” Griffith said. “This is my third play that I’m in.” Having such a range of ages from four different schools all acting together in one play is very benefi cial to the young actors because it allows them to interact and form friend ships with students they wouldn’t usually spend time around otherwise, Johnsen said. “When our fifth graders go into the middle school, they already know some kids going into it and that helps that transition,” Johnsen said. LeFevre added that giv ing the students the oppor tunity to participate in the ater shows at such a young age is also beneficial to them being able to grow as actors as they advance to high school. “Our goal is to really increase arts awareness in Dawson County Schools, give kids an opportunity to do theater before high school and really just to improve all of our pro grams from band to cho rus,” LeFevre said. “A lot of these kids do other activities like that because they’ve done this with us which is awesome.” Two Dawsonville women dead after Forsyth wreck Kelly Whitmire DCN Regional Staff Note: This story was updated on March 24 to include fundraising information. GoFundMes have been set up to assist the families of two Dawsonville women who were killed in a head- on wreck in north Forsyth County on Tuesday, March 22. Now, people can donate toward funeral costs for the late Jessica James, 36, and Sarah Decoteau, 38. https://www. gofundme.com/f/jes sic a-j antes- memoriar?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2eJ3m WlqgpbGO_dxiIycB3YHzZze2y-B51jV-OWF_8Ds6_ uXr9r0cmbCc https://www.gofundme.com/f/love-support-for-sar- ahs-family?sharetype=teams&member=18248845&pc = f b _ c o campmgmt_w&rcid = r01-164804741625- 7bda053eaab91 lec&utm_source=facebook&utm_ medium=social&utm_campaign=p_lico%2Bshare-she et&fbclid=IwAR0yc2eMY sPr7 SNgRXeSNAc7CNf BL-1 MNZv 1Y-VpfPY_nrYeviUBrj Nmekc According to a news release from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, at about 8:25 a.m. on Tuesday, deputies and the Forsyth County Fire Department responded to a head-on collision between a 2003 Honda Accord and a 2013 Hyundai Elantra at the intersection of Bannister and Mockingbird roads. The driver of the Honda, Jessica James, was pro nounced dead at the scene, and the passenger in the Hyundai, Sarah Decoteau, was pronounced dead after being transported by Life Flight to an area hospital. “A 2003 Honda Accord was traveling south on Bannister Road while a 2013 Hyundai Elantra was traveling northbound,” the release said. “For reasons undetermined at this point, the Honda crossed into the northbound lane striking the Hyundai.” According to the release, the driver of the Hyundai was transported to a local hospital “with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries” and a 14-year-old pas senger in the Honda was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. “Investigators noted that the two victims of this crash were not wearing their seatbelts and the two sur vivors were,” the release said. The wreck remains under investigation by the FCSO’s Traffic Specialist Unit. Tuesday’s crash is the second wreck with fatalities in less than a week after a pedestrian was struck and killed on Peachtree Parkway while assisting with another wreck on Friday, March 18. DCN’s Julia Fechter contributed to reporting about fundraisers for the late women. This story was originally published in the Forsyth County News, a sister publication of the Dawson County News. Dawson County Humane Society a no kill shelter 706-265-9160 Doggy Spotlight Meet Happy! This sweet girl is in a need of a home of experienced dog owners who can help bring her out of her shell and get her reacquainted with the world. Happy previously lived with middle aged children, and has been in a home setting. However, shelter life seems to have come as quite the shock to her and as of right now we only recommend mature adult adopters for her who can read her body language and recognize when she’s become over stimulated and needs a social break. Her previous adopter had nothing negative to say about her, and she has excellent potential to be an amazing fun loving dog, but she’s been scared and traumatized by her rehoming experience and is going to take time to come around. Potential adopters will need to work closely with kennel staff to acclimate and prepare her to go home. If you have the time to help put this gorgeous little onion back together one piece at a time, come meet Happy today. She is a year old and weighs 45 pounds. Happy For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE All proceeds benefits Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. the Humane bociety ANH Collision Specialists 706-216-0992 103 Industrial Park Road, Dawsonville Bradley M. Maple CPA, PC 706-216-2362 2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100 Dawsonville Dawsonville Veterinary Hospital 706-265-8381
