I am so excited to be returning to the NCS drama department. It has been a dream come true working with these amazing students this past month. They have exceeded many of my expectations, and been devoted to the amazing story that you will be seeing today!
Digging Up the Boys is an amazing story of faith, and how in our darkest times we need it the most. We follow the heartbreaking story of Jack, Paul, and Floyd as they are working as coal miners. Out of nowhere, their mine falls in, and they are trapped. From this moment on we bounce from “the boys” to their loved ones up above: Floyd’s daughter Addy, Jack’s sister, Ruth, and Paul’s wife, May. Our three ladies try desperately to find answers about their boys, but are told to “just go home and pray.”
I love this story because it is an excellent example of turning to God in our darkest moments.
When there is nothing else that the ladies can do, they recognize that they need to pray. However you will see that they do not turn to prayer immediately, but to anger. I think that we all can see ourselves in one of the ladies with how we process our worries and doubts. They have no choice but to turn to God when the going gets tough, and I believe that this story is one we can all benefit from.
Thank you for supporting our production of Digging Up the Boys.
Sincerely,
Hendrick Shelton
When choosing a show for this season, I wanted to tell a story that would resonate with all of the struggles and joys the past year has brought us. Pandemic, politics and predjudice continue to traumatize and divide. Shrek the Musical JR. is a story that uses fairytale and humor to bring to light some of our darkest moments. We see in our community, country and world, the human condition of seeking identity, belonging, grace and validation in a fallen world where fear, selfishness, prejudice, judgement and hatred often rule the day. Instead of turning to the Creator God for our identity and value we often seek affirmation from society instead. The characters in the script, the students portraying them and each of you in the audience has a story to tell. May we always live a life that tells the story the world needs to hear. Thank you for being here to share in our story in this moment.
Sincerely,
Nicole Arnold
