On Wednesday, April 11th, the Frankston drama production of Home directed by Kirk Corley advanced to Region. The Frankston High School Drama Club hasn’t been this far in 19 years. Andrew Shewmake again won Best Actor in a tour de force performance as Cephus Miles. Morgan Blades and Skyelar Spencer won All Star Cast for their superb performances. Michael Warren and Bailie Vandagriff won Honorable Mention All Star Cast for the great jobs they did. Raquel Boykin won an All Star Crew award for her work at the light board. Please congratulate them and wish them luck as they shoot for state!

By: Kimmie Nolen

On March 9-11 Mr. Kirk Corley, head of drama department at Frankston High School, performed a play at the Henderson County Performing Arts Center. Mr. Corley did a wonderful job playing his character, Howie. Howie was a father and husband who just lost his son. Throughout this play Howie had to face several obstacles that kept popping up in his life. He lost his only child, Danny, when he got hit by a car. Now his sister-in-law is pregnant, so he now has to go through the phase of having another child in his life that is not his son. About mid-play, Howie has to face Jason, the man who accidentally killed his child. Howie comes to realize that he cannot blame Jason for Danny’s death; it was just an accident. Throughout this play, he also goes through difficult problems with his wife, Becca. They both blame themselves for their child’s death, and both have a hard time getting over the fact that he is gone and not coming back. All the people involved with the play did a wonderful job making this play as great at it was!

1.How did it feel to be back on stage with a lead role?

It was a wonderful feeling. It has been 14 years since I had been on stage. It felt like I had found home again. The stage has always been a place I felt most alive. So being back on stage was amazing.

2. Was it difficult to channel painful emotions being that you are a father outside of your character?

It was difficult dealing with some of the emotions in he play. Actually being a father helped with some  of the scenes in the show. Portraying a father whose son passed away was difficult, but as a performer with a 4 year old son, I was able to draw on the idea of what if something happened to my own child. I think the more difficult emotions to portray on stage were the intimate emotions within the play.

Article by: Randie Hall

Girl+ind

V-Boys+Ind

JV-Boys+Ind

1. What do you like about substituting?

The students and friendship with the teachers. Karla Dennis and Beth Ward were very warm and welcoming when I started, and they continue to make it a great experience. Also there is a great group of kids!

2.Have you been to any other school to substitute? Where?

I tried one other school locally that will remain nameless. I fell in love with Frankston kids.

3.What do you like to do outside of substituting?

I love to be involved in my grandkids activities. We attend all of their functions.

4. What class do you like substituting?

All of high school. I’m not good with younger kids.

5.What have you done in your life that is interesting?

Oh my I think lots of things. I usually find something interesting everyday. But it is according to what you call interesting. New York is one place that me and my husband love to travel to.

6.How long have you been substituting?

This is my fourth year. I taught a life time ago for the same number of years. Maybe I’ll sub longer than I taught!

Interviewed By: Tonya Broughton

The Frankston UIL One Act Play directed by Mr. Corley advanced in a very competitive district field of seven schools. The judge said it was the best district contest he had seen in years. Andrew Shewmake won Best Actor for his mercurial performance as Cephus Miles. Morgan Blades won a Best All-Star award for her performance as Patty Mae. Bailie Vandegriff won a Honorable Mention All-Star performance in her first show ever. Kristen Groome won an All-Star Crew Award as the assistant director. Congratulations to everyone involved, and we look forward to seeing you do well at Area on April 11th!

Article by: Rebeca Hernandez

Board Member Interview: Ali Atwood

Vice President

Are you from Frankston? : I was actually born in New Hampshire, and I moved here when I was a little girl. I met my husband Brooks when we were in high school, and we were married about a year and a half after we dated. We have four awesome kids. We live here in Frankston; I’ve lived here since we were married. It’s been about fifteen years now. I’m an active church member, and I love anything to do with family, friends, and traditions that families have. So I’m a pro at that!

Do you play any sports? : Oh, in school I did. I played volleyball and tennis. I swam my entire childhood. I also ran as a hobby.

Any pastimes? : For a pastime I actually like to take pictures. I like to take pictures of whatever my family is doing. I like to take pictures of my kids and my husband or my nieces and nephews. Also family gatherings and my friends with their kids. I enjoy that a lot.

Is there any other family information you would like to share? : Well, I’m the second oldest of six daughters; one of which is deceased. Both of my parents live in Tyler. All of my sisters live in about a thirty mile radius, so were able to remain very close. I have a ton of extended family, but they don’t live very close. We’re as close as we can be for long distance, they’ll either travel to us or we’ll travel to them, so it’s nice.

How long have you been on the School Board? : This is my fifth year, and I’m now entering into my sixth year.

Why is it important for you to be on the board? : Oh, I think it’s a great way to help the things you love be better and get stronger. I was very intimidated to run for the board, but I did it anyways, and I was very intimated when I got on the board because everything’s done in such a parliamentary style. I’m much more of a relaxed type person. I like things real comfortable, so it took me a little bit to unwind, but I love it! I love the organization of it all, and I love the structure. I think the hardest part of it is that there’s so many rules to follow, and you have to work within parameters. The school is not run like a free enterprise type business, but like a government organization. It’s tough because you have to follow their rules, but at the same time you’re trying to run it like you want to, and you want it to be run by the community for the kids, but at the same time you have to follow their guidelines. So that’s the toughest part, but I still love to see the positive things that go on. I love to see the success that we have, and sometimes we have little bumps in the road, but it’s awesome to see the positive aspects. A lot of the teachers are from here, and they’ve been here a long time, and I love to see that they really care. They really love this school, and they love the kids, and they really want the best for each individual person. There’s nothing more humble that that; to see someone give up themselves to make someone else better.

Interview by Brittany Rodgers