Drama has been a tradition at Cameron High School for years- and not just the petty kind. For more years than most care to count, CHS has put on a fall musical and a spring play. Sadly enough, with the recent cutbacks due to the economy, other schools have either lost or never had the chance to have and keep a drama department running. Knowing this, CHS Drama Director Mr. Derek Williams has decided to invite students from neighboring school districts to participate in the productions of the CHS Drama Department.

“I decided a couple years ago it would be nice for us- and for the kids around us-if I could include them in our program, because so many schools have cut so many programs and a lot of schools never had a theater program in the first place,” said Mr. Williams. “I thought it could be a win-win for everybody. Those kids in those small schools that don’t have a drama program could at least be involved in our program. It would give them the experience, it would give the chance for my kids to meet some kids from other schools and towns, and it would be good for us because we would sell more tickets and have a fuller cast.”

The students from other school districts participating in the CHS shows will not need to audition, and the only thing the school districts will have to pay for is transportation to and from practices, which will only be mandatory for them once a week until it gets closer to show time. These students will only be offered chorus roles and cast as “extras” in the shows they are involved in, so as not to encroach on the rights of Cameron students to be able to have priority in their own productions.

“I have no idea how many kids will be interested or how many schools will participate, but we invited Maysville, Osborn, Stewartsville, Hamilton, Gallatin, and Winston,” Mr. Williams explained.

“I think this is a good way to extend our pool of cast members, and to do bigger, more well-known shows, we’ll need more people,” said CHS Drama Honor Society member Zane Clark. This line of thinking seems to be shared by some alumni of the CHS Drama Department.

“The pros are that there will be more people involved. When Cameron goes down to Blue Star Awards all the schools that are nominated have gigantic choruses, and in Cameron that is just not going to happen, but if we were to involve more schools, then it might be possible,” said Former DHS President Meghan Mulcahy.

This “Regional Theater” idea might certainly improve things for CHS, and possibly for the neighboring schools as well if they choose to participate. Giving students the chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves and giving them a taste of something they may not have had before could certainly be a great idea that could just change the future of drama at CHS.