Pictured is a scene from the 2017 version of “Kindred Spirits,” which drew crowds of about 350 to each of its two performances. This year’s “Kindred Spirits” production, with performances at 1 and 3 p.m., will be held on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in the O’Brien Theatre on Roane State’s main campus in Harriman. (Photo by Roane State)
By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer
It’s an extravaganza for the Halloween season that features a cast of 130 singers, dancers, musicians, and actors, and it’s growing in popularity.
It’s the annual “Kindred Spirits” production, with performances at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, in the O’Brien Theatre on Roane State Community College’s main campus at 276 Patton Lane in Harriman. Admission is $5.
“It’s one of the highlights of our year,” said Professor Brenda Luggie, Roane State’s choral director. “The music students absolutely love it.”
The hour-long, family-friendly show features Roane State music students, actors from Midway High School’s Drama Club, and about 100 dancers of all ages from Arts in Motion, with studios in Rockwood and Kingston.
Although the presentation has had the same basic format for eight years, there are new additions this year, including the partnership with Midway’s Drama Club, Luggie said. Also, there will be a contest where audience members can bring carved or decorated pumpkins in before the show for judging by local artists, with a prize for the winner.
Luggie also said that before each show, there will be an opportunity for the audience to be photographed with the two main characters with a Halloween-themed backdrop for a $1 per photo donation.
Those two characters are the “Twisted Sisters”—Gwenifred and Wenifred Twist—portrayed by Cherokee Middle School Principal and local storyteller Elizabeth Rose and Midway Drama Club teacher Courtney Minton, respectively. In the presentation, the pair visit an amusement park titled “Deadly World” and travel through its different areas.
The presentation features something for everyone, Luggie said. Little children will enjoy the colors, movements, and music, while adults will appreciate the humor.
Audience members are encouraged to come in costume, and the show includes three costume parades to allow different age groups to come on stage and showcase their outfits, Luggie said.
At the end of each show, cast members will line up around the theatre and out into the lobby to hand out sweet treats to children. Luggie said the kids “usually leave with about $5 worth of candy.”
“That’s a really fun part of the event, especially for the smaller children—to do something interactive with the cast,” Luggie said.
The event is becoming a popular tradition, she said, and around 350 attended each show last year.
Proceeds are divvied up between the three organizations involved. Roane State’s share helps support the music department’s annual trip.
Other Roane State faculty involved in the production include Geol Greenlee, director of the college’s Jazz Band, and faculty member Chris Metcalfe, director of the Roane State Stage Band.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
This press release was submitted by Owen Driskill.
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