NEWNAN (May 17, 2010) – Thirteen students from the Newnan High School drama department recently visited the Georgia State Capitol to meet with Gov. Sonny Perdue and state legislators about representing Georgia and the United States in their upcoming performance in Scotland.
In February 2009, Newnan High School drama director Bob Ramseur received notification that Newnan High School had been nominated for participation in the American High School Theatre Festival. The nomination came from high school and college level adjudicators who attended productions by the drama department over the past three years. The nomination included an extensive application that was completed and returned to the organizers of the Festival. In April 2009, Ramseur was notified that the application had been approved and an invitation to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was awarded to Newnan High School. The performance trip was approved by the Board of Education and then announced to the students of the drama department during the last week of school last May.
No school funds or public dollars are used to support student activities such as this. Each individual family must raise the necessary funds for their student to participate. For the Newnan High drama students, this is $6,000.00 per student. Several of the parents have created a Drama Club Boosters group to assist in fundraising raising efforts. While they have held several events and participated in many fundraising activities, the funding has come up short of their goal. The booster group has also applied to several local groups and organizations for grants to help cover the costs, but none have yet to approve any awards.
The American High School Theatre Festival selects the finest high school theatre programs in the country to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Edinburgh Fringe is the largest performing arts festival in the world attracting performers and visitors from all corners of the globe. For their entry in the 2010 Fringe, Newnan will revive their recent production of Bambi: A Life in the Woods. This family-friendly play by American playwright James DeVita returns to the Felix Salten novel as inspiration for this famous coming of age story. In the play, the fawn Bambi grows to assume the title of Great Prince of the Forest while encountering feelings of loss, loneliness, and love. The performance by Newnan High School’s Drama Department will mark the UK premiere of DeVita’s play.
Newnan High students met briefly with Gov. Perdue and House District 70 Rep. Lynn Smith, House District 71 Rep. Billy Horne, and Senate District 28 Sen. Mitch Seabaugh. The governor and legislators asked questions and offered advice to the students, many of whom will be first-time international travelers. Representative Smith encouraged the students to become very familiar with poet Robert Burns, whose work is beloved throughout Scotland.
The students were accompanied by Newnan Principal Doug Moore, Coweta County Commissioner Tim Lassetter, Newnan drama director Bob Ramseur and Drama Booster Club representatives Tony and Janet Hughes. In August, Ramseur and the students will represent Newnan, Georgia, and the United States when they travel to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland to perform as part of the American High School Theatre Festival.
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Sen. Mitch Seabaugh represents the 28th Senate District which includes Coweta and Heard counties and portions of Carroll and Troup counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.6446 or by e-mail at mail@mitchseabaugh.com.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
May 18, 2010
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
Raegan.Weber@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028