The Right Fight, Highlands’ Youth Theater Program

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: 2018/04 - April

Fighting in school is normally frowned upon, but this month local schools are actually encouraging it.

That’s the message from Megan E. Greenlee-Potts, the artistic director of the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Art Center’s Youth Theater Program, now in its 11th year.

The students in Greenlee-Potts’ program have spent the year learning the intricacies of hand-to-hand stage fighting.  The acting ensemble will demonstrate their skills, with help from their technical theater counterparts, to their classmates as they take the spring production “On Tour” in a series of shows at Highlands School for both the middle school and the high school students, Blue Ridge School for the middle school, the high school, Blue Ridge Early College, Summit Charter School, and Macon Middle School, April 25-27. The public is invited to attend the free performances set for 7:00 P.M. Saturday, April 28, at Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library; and 3:00 P.M. Sunday, April 29, at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

Beginning at the start of the year, the Society of American Fight Directors-certified Fight Choreographer Samantha J. McDonald has taught hand-to-hand fighting techniques to a troupe of enthusiastic and limber youth on Saturday mornings at the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

“In addition to being a certified fight instructor, Samantha’s also a professional stuntwoman who’s appeared in movies like this year’s ‘The Fate of the Furious’ and television programs such as ‘The Walking Dead,’ and served as a stunt utility driver in the upcoming ‘Den of Thieves,’ said Greenlee-Potts. “She knows how to deliver and take a punch, and she taught students the intricacies of hand-to-hand stage combat. They learned front slaps, back-handed slaps, punches, kicks, and rolls. Now they’re anxious to show everyone what they’ve accomplished.

The performances will include a stage combat demonstration, and then both improvisational and scripted scenes featuring fighting will be performed. I think this will have something thrilling for everyone.”  

Along with this Spring Production, this year the Youth Theatre Program offers the Saturday morning theatre classes, the streamed HD Live National Theatre of London performances and a youth’s discussion group to follow, and an Intern Program in June where students have the opportunity to work under Greenlee-Potts on National Live Road Shows at PAC.  All offerings are free of charge to area youth.

For more information about the shows or the Youth Theater Program, contact Greenlee-Potts at (828) 200-0889 or the Performing Arts Center at (828) 526-9047. You can also visit highlandspac.net.