Smoke on the Mountain

Andy made his theatrical debut last night in the High Point Community Theatre's production of Smoke on the Mountain. As the banjo-playing cousin Andy Sanders, he helped back up the singing Sanders family as they performed in a Saturday night singing at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. Set in the economically-difficult days of 1938, the play is a mix of rousing gospel music, soul-stirring tunes and stories, and hilarious church humor. If you've spent much time in church, you'll surely see a character that resembles someone you've known.

Andy perfomed his role as part of the back-up band well. He gets a chance for a couple of brief breakouts that, in last night's performance, were very well received!

For a kid whose desire is to play professional banjo in a bluegrass band and own a dairy farm, he had a lot of reservations about being part of a theatre troupe. But he has had an absolute blast with every aspect of being in this production! Being with the people, the independence of going off several nights a week on his own, being on tv for the first time, getting his picture in the newspaper, learning new music, playing his banjo. And of course, for anyone who is truly a performer at heart, being on stage and hearing that applause - these are the opportunities he has had over the past 6 weeks as part of the Smoke on the Mountain cast. As I had hoped, I don't think he'll be the same when this weekend's performances are over!

Thanks to everyone who helped "convince" him to take advantage of this opportunity. Thanks to the cast and crew of Smoke on the Mountain who have been a part of teaching my kid some valuable skills and lessons. Thanks to family and friends for supporting Andy by coming to the perfomances when possible and messages of encouragment from those too far away to be here physically.

And, thanks to God for the talent He has seen fit to bless Andy with. My prayer is that Andy will always remember where the talent comes from and will use it for His purposes.

We're giving high-5's today in Shari's World...