What A Wonderful Time The Multi-County Talent Shows Are!

The 2nd Annual Multi-County Talent Show was a wonderful experience, and proved again this year that there is talent in the youth of this area!  As Jason Benjamin* expressed it, "I came here expecting the "normal", "run of the mill" small-town talent show, but I was blown away!"  

More about Jason in the next post.  He has been in movies, on TV, as an actor, and stuntman and coordinator, and will soon pass on what he has learned to the youth in our community.  Stay tuned!

He was right too.  The talent show at the Princess Theatre in Harriman, TN never fails to amaze those in attendance.  This area is full of talent just begging for a place to express it, and the Princess is just the place to do that!

Muse Watson was bursting at the seams with pride as he, and daughter Sophie, took the stage after intermission.  "This is what it's all about folks!"  He loves to see young people take the stage at the Princess, where he and Gary Baker first had "The Dream".  "The Dream" is being fulfilled in the youth of Roane, Morgan, Rhea, and other surrounding counties today.  These annual talent shows are the proof!

For those of you that don't know what "The Dream" is, here it it:

Please come out and support these wonderfully talented kids every time you can...they are truly worth the effort.

As Ms. Vera Scarbrough put it on Facebook:  "EVERYONE!!! HEAR THIS! The Talent Show is going to be the last FRIDAY in March every year.  MARK you calendar for 2016!!   Unless the Lord comes back, we will see you there.  We need your help: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, businesses, schools.....to make the Princess Theatre a true performing arts center for our children!"

 

And don't forget that the "Sidewalk or Street Art" show is the Thursday evening before the big show.  It even went off this year during the rain.  There are lots of awnings up and down the street, so come out next year.  Maurice Lowery says we need to "paint" the whole street, so if we get enough interested, we'll expand this portion of the talent show!  Make it happen!

Now back to the Friday night show!

 

The 2nd Annual Talent Show kicked promptly at 6PM, with Emery Francis, last year's "Princess Idol", playing her piano and signing.  It turned out that she co-hosted the show with John Condrone, who also played guitar and sang while the votes were being tabulated.

 

 

So, getting right to it, this year's "Princess Idol" was Kelsey Cate of Sevier County!  Kelsey sang "Tennessee Waltz" and really impressed the audience.  I was even impressed with her beautiful boots!

As you can see, the news of our annual "Multi-County Talent Show" is spreading!  We might have to have multiple nights in the near future, and that would be grand!

Here is Friday night's program, so you can read the names of those participating.  I don't want to clearly identify our young talents, but they and their parents and grandparents will know who they are.

Regardless, the Princess Theatre Foundation, Roane State Community College, and everyone who had something do with this production is very proud of all of them.  It takes courage to step out on the stage they did so well.  They will get more and more used to in years to come, and maybe they will be encouraged to follow that "dream" on to bigger stages someday.

I must tell you here about how proud I am of the Princess audience.  One young lady was a little intimidated by the bright lights and faltered at the beginning of her duet.  A couple of people shouted, "You can do it!", and others began to applaud.  I was touched!  This gave encouragement to the girl and she went on to finish strong!

In a world today where making fun and "boos" are the norm, this let gives me hope that we still have good people in the world.

The Princess Theatre Foundation would like to thank the Roane and Morgan County Schools Directors, everyone at Roane State Community College, the Princess Theatre staff, and all the volunteers that help at each show, who make these events possible.

Here are the photos of everyone that was in the show, and if I left anyone out that performed, let me know.  I will add them to the post.  However, I think I have it covered!

Almost forgot Alex, who is taking a video course at RSCC.

I apologize for this post being so long, but I must try and get in everyone who was there and/or participated! 

First Annual Multi-County Talent Show Is A Grand Hit!

The 2014 Multi-County Talent Show fills the Princess stage with once hidden talent, and sets the stage for a grander event next year!  

Roane County and Oakdale schools sent students with a wide variety of talents to the theater Friday evening.  The stage floor was filled with supporters and judges, and very proud parents and grandparents, who were all surprised and entertained by our area students.  It was a great show folks, and you should have been there!

Organizer Vera Scarbrough, who was fresh out of the hospital, predicts that next year's talent show will stretch into a two-night event.  Some of the area schools had not heard about the Princess Foundation's talent night, and held their own shows.  Upon hearing about Friday's affair, they all want to be a part of next year's event.  Maybe next year the schools can hold their own talent shows, and then send the best on to the Princess to compete with other artists!  What an idea!

Muse Watson and Gary Baker stepped in to help when Vera suddenly became ill.  Together they brought in the school's best talents, and everyone seemed to be thoroughly impressed with what they saw performed on the Princess Theatre stage.  

In all, there were 24 acts, plus John Condrone, of Oakdale, came to emcee and play some of his hit tunes for the audience.

Singer/song writer John Condrone is from Oakdale.

This kind of event is just what "The Dream" foresaw; talented children with a stage on which to display their individual talents.  A place to grow in the love of the arts!

It's such a shame that most of the county shows do not have a drama club.  It is the Foundation's hope that schools will put the arts back into the school budget, and let the children find themselves in the arts.  Then they all can come to the Princess, and then who knows where they will go!

Friday night's talent show started outside with "street art".  Here are a few examples of that display of talent.  Next year I hope all the sidewalks are filled with art!  It doesn't matter your age...just draw something!

Maurice "Gramps" Lowery is Harriman's resident "street artist".  He is shown with his "Dragon" entry.  Maurice also encouraged and helped other young artist awaken their inner talents!

Muse signed autographs, and enjoyed some popcorn outside, while the acts did sound checks and the stage was prepared inside.

Here Muse is actually cleaning up with one hand, while the other holds his popcorn.  Carol Farmer prepares to collect the admission...ONLY $5.

The show began with Mayor Chris Mason (with sidekick Kendal) introducing Muse Watson who introduced the show's coordinator, Vera Scarbrough, and they were off.  

Here are the acts (names withheld due to their ages), in order of appearance...

And, the overall winner was Emery Francis!  She performed "House Of The Rising Sun".

Even during the show, Muse sat backstage and encourage the young performers to put aside their stage fright and to do their best!

When the last contestant had performed, John Condrone entertained the audience as the judges conferred.  Then it was time to present the awards for each category or division.  The stage was full of expectant performers who cheered and applauded for each winner, as Muse announced them.

After the show, Muse was there again, offering congratulations to the performers, and encouraging them to come back next year.

Muse gave Vera a bouquet of flowers for all her hard work.  She was surprised by the gesture, and told the audience not to go away thinking it had been the "Vera Scarbrough Show"!

Truth be told, there would have been no show without her...so, it kind of was the Vera Show!  Thank you Ms. Vera, for again leading us to the arts!