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‘We never thought this would happen here to us‘
On Oct. 29, 2024, just a month after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, the Pioneer Playmakers premiered an original theater production — titled “Surge” — to a full house at Watauga High School (WHS).
“It is a love letter to our community,” Sarah Miller, a theater arts educator and co-director of the play, said.
In this video, the students practice the opening scene just before the show started.
The play
As the stormwaters rise
Four storylines are woven together throughout the play, reflecting the experiences of the students during the hurricane. Things they saw. Things they heard.
Each scene is time and date stamped as the storm progresses along with the rising water levels of the Watauga and French Broad rivers.
“I remember exactly where I was,” the ensemble says together.
One family, the Critchers, features a grandmother, mother, and daughter, who were asked to check on their nearby church. Together, as the water rises, they sing the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” also known as “When Peace, Like a River.”
Another family, the Shepherds, includes the local town mayor and her family, who run a second generation coffee shop.
The third family, the Andersons, lives on their Christmas tree farm.
“10:14 a.m. Watauga River, 13 feet. French Broad River, 30 feet. Entire towns, whole families, swept away, off the map, gone,” the ensemble says.
In the aftermath of the storm
In the aftermath of the storm, four reporters covering the hurricane interact with the families.
As a reporter broadcasts from the church where the Critchers were during the storm, she notes the 10 inches of stormwater that breached the sanctuary. “You know, it would go a lot faster if you would help us,” Critcher says to the reporter.
“How bad is it?,” another reporter asks the father of the Shepherd family.
“Look around,” he responds. Later, as the reporter begins to help, Shepherd asks, “Are you a day helper or a stay helper?”
One of the reporters reflects, “I’ve covered Harvey, Irma, Ida. I thought I had seen it all. I have never seen anything like this.”
The play documents that just as swiftly as the water rose, water and other supplies were brought in from all over the country to help the communities.
“Communities pulling together. Digging each other out. Holding each other close. Donations poured in. There was no hesitation. The water came so fast. Pallets after pallets of water,” the students say.
This original score was composed by students Clara Lappan, Kyleigh Hogan, and Lilliana Lemus.
The making of “Surge”
“Surge” was created by the WHS Pioneer Playmakers Ensemble. It is directed by Miller and arts educator Zach Walker.
One week after the storm on Oct. 3, Miller met with the students on Google Meet.
“Not everybody could join,” she says. “Not everybody had internet. Not everybody had power. Not everybody was in their homes.”
“This is happening to us right now,” Miller said. “The artists help us understand what we need to release or to feel or to process in these big epic moments.”
“We can’t say it enough,” she emphasized. “This has never happened here.”
Miller said the ensemble landed on the story itself on Oct. 14, outlining it on a white board. Days later, the script was written.
Tiffany Christian — a Watauga High School “drama mama” and theater legend — offered a critique after the performance to the students and the audience.
“Y’all. I am so proud of y’all,” she began.
Christian said the strongest acting and staging elements of the play were the acrobatics at the climax of the flooding, as long planks of wood were used to animate the impact of the raging storm as a daughter of the Shepherd family was tossed around by the water and then trapped under debris.
“High schoolers are not supposed to be able to do that,” Christian exclaimed.
She noted that the intensity of the play mimicked the intensity of the storm.
“That’s what we lived through,” she says. “There was no break.”
“Feeling that constant pressure and intensity and emotion,” Christian says, “is the foundation for the story you are telling.”
The students will perform the play this weekend in Shelby at regionals for the North Carolina Theatre Conference.
“My producer told me I just needed one good story,” says a reporter in the play to the audience. “But this isn’t just one good story. It is a story today and next week and next year. And I want to be here to tell that story.”
Beckie Spears, the 2024 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year, attended the performance. When she spoke to the students, she said, “One of the beautiful things about sharing your collective story is that tonight you are making a new story. A story of success through art that will move people. And that is a remarkable thing to accomplish.”
A standing ovation followed the performance.
11/3/2024 update from Sarah Miller:
Zach Walker and I always tell our ensembles, “We’re making a cake. If we like the cake, that’s all that matters. If we get icing, cool.”
Here’s the icing from regionals:
- Best Original Song: “Long Way Down,” Clara & Kyleigh & Liliana
- Best Directing: Sarah AND Zach!!
- Outstanding Achievement in Acting: Rowan
- Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Acting
- Superior Rating
- Distinguished Play, “Cast Your Vote” Audience Choice.
