playbill vip

Welcome to our production of Into the Wood, Jr.!

We are thrilled to share our work and hope to thoroughly entertain you this evening.  We hope you leave tonight's performance celebrating the many accomplishments that our students have achieved while producing and performing Stephen Sondheim's classic tale Into the Woods, in our unique presentational style that gives  audiences both a live and filmed theatrical experience. 

Presenting a show of this caliber requires an army of parent volunteers. From costumes to make up, prop collection to set building, painting, filming, publicity, printing and much more... it could not be done without the help of many, many parents! Our students are extremely fortunate to be supported by such an extraordinarily committed and devoted team of parents who always step up and support their children's artistic endeavors. Yet, that is just the tip of the iceberg!  We are blessed to have many business partners in our community that annually sponsor our students  ensuring that their arts education is able to thrive; and let us not overlook the entire West Pine Middle Staff and MCS Central Office who always show flexibility and encouragement with each of our endeavours. To all who are part of our community, we thank you! 

Our production is unique in that we, as a middle school, are collaborating with many professionals to present this musical.  To that end, I am extremely grateful and humbled to work alongside talented and dedicated colleagues who worked tirelessly for our students: Mr Francis (director/cinematographer), Scott Made (set design), Amanda Pignone, Jessica Weaver (Lead Painters), Showboat costumes and collectibles (costumes and and collectibles). 

The community network and organizational support has always been awesome!  I thank The Pilot, Sandhills Sentinel, Star 102.5 and Bill Sahadi with All Things Moore.com for their interest and efforts in publicizing the many fantastic things that have been going on behind the scenes to prepare for the show; Village Printers (Program Editing/Posters), First Health of the Carolina (Program Printing), Davis Video Productions (DVDs)...and the list goes on. 

In short, I applaud all who have made this production possible to feature our cast of 40 6th-8th grade performers and an additional 6  student techies.  The students have been phenomenal to work with.  Their efforts and passion to produce the very best show have been inspiring to witness, not to mention the sheer depth of their individual and collective talent.

Thank you to all for being a part of our show whether behind the scenes, on stage or in the audience. Stephen Sondheim sums it up well, “Best to take the moment present as a present for the moment.”  This being my last production as an educator, since I am retiring in April, allows for me to contemplate his thoughts on a very personal level.  It has been my honor and privilege to work on this production and with the community of West Pine Middle School and Moore County Schools throughout the years.  

I moved to North Carolina as a young, green, educator to serve Moore County Schools and I can think of no better place to finish my career. I look forward to seeing from afar the continued success of the students in this program and throughout the school in the years ahead.

Blessings to all, Torin Wright