Above: WCU junior Tim Stoeckel (center) plays the role of basketball all-star Troy Bolton in the Smoky Mountain Arts Regional Theatre’s production of “High School Musical.”

A new community theater company led by Western Carolina University students will stage Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” from Thursday, July 10, to Sunday, July 13, at the Swain County Center for the Arts.

In “High School Musical,” basketball standout Troy Bolton, played by WCU junior Timothy Stoeckel of Waynesville, and academic all-star Gabriella Montez, played by Breanna Sneed of Swain County, discover a shared interest in music that leads them to secretly audition for their high school’s musical. Their competition for leading roles in the show and conflicts with Troy’s basketball championship and Gabriella’s academic competition reveal lessons about acceptance and teamwork.

The musical is the first production of the recently formed Smoky Mountain Arts Regional Theatre, a nonprofit organization with Anthony Giordano, a WCU senior theater major from Bryson City, as president and Stoeckel as vice president.

With the show, Giordano is the director, Stoeckel is the music director and three other WCU students – Emily Gill, a junior musical theater major from Durham; Sarah Lipham, a junior theater major from Canton; and Mark Hudson, a senior speech and theater major from Huntersville – are members of the cast.

“I was really touched to see our students give up other lucrative summer options to give back to the community in this way,” said Melody Huddleston, an administrative assistant for stage and screen at WCU whose two daughters, 5-year-old Hannah and 7-year-old Nyah, are cast as junior cheerleaders in the musical.  “My daughters had seen shows at WCU and were excited about getting to work with the actors they had watched on stage. They’re learning about responsibility, working with others and professional behavior, and they’re having fun.”

Giordano, (pictured at left, front) who has performed more than 30 roles in stage and TV productions, said SMART began when his grandmother, Johnnie Roberts, and his sister, Amber Giordano, suggested he share his talent and experience by directing a show in his hometown.

“I was in the process of signing a summer contract, so I had to give it a lot of thought before deciding to do it,” said Giordano.

Roberts took the lead in establishing SMART as a nonprofit organization, rallying community support and fundraising.

“The hardest thing for us was getting enough money to send for the license and rights for the production,” said Roberts. “That $3,000, at first, looked impossible to raise.”

But community members responded with a range of contributions. Some have donated fans and bottled water to make un-air-conditioned rehearsal venues such as the upstairs of the Swain County Fire Department more comfortable. Others such as Lisa Donovan, a Bryson City resident who danced professionally for 20 years, are sharing their time and talent. Donovan is the show’s choreographer.

For Giordano, who has balanced working on “High School Musical” with a job at a Bryson City restaurant and preparation for his role in a late July show with Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, the experience has been challenging and positive.

“It’s been rewarding, especially when I see a light go off – when actors realize they can do something they didn’t know they were capable of,” he said.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children, and can be purchased at the door or in advance at Rita’s Hallmark Shop and The Station Restaurant on Everett Street in Bryson City. The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10, Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 13. Proceeds benefit Swain High School’s drama and ensemble department.

For more information, visit the Web site for SMART.

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Last Modified: Monday, July 7, 2008