By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Tradition abounds at Washington High School this weekend as students prepare for their annual Stunt Night talent competition.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is by advance-purchase tickets only; call the WHS office at 252-946-0858 today to determine if any tickets remain for the event.
Stunt Night will showcase the talent of approximately 150 students this year, according to Bill Gore, the event’s overall director. Each class, from freshmen to seniors, will present an original skit complete with singing and dancing.
Funds raised provide scholarships for college-bound seniors, Gore said.
“The money goes to the John Bragaw Scholarship Fund,” he said. “To be eligible for a scholarship, the student has to have participated in Stunt Night all four years. There is an application process that will take place next spring, and staff members who have helped with Stunt Night will determine the winners.”
Stunt Night is a long-standing tradition at Washington High School, Gore noted.
“We think this is our 46th year,” he said. “In researching records, we’ve done what we believe to be some corrections to the Stunt Night scoreboard. We think we’ve got it correct; some classes that had won were not being given credit.”
According to the records, seniors tend to have an advantage in the Stunt Night events.
“There have been only 11 times that seniors have not won, so experience does pay off,” Gore said.
The winner is determined by a panel of judges composed of WHS graduates and former staff familiar with Stunt Night. Criteria includes acting, scenery, dance and choreography, script and plot, costumes, ticket sales, musical numbers and audience response.
Each class has its own faculty advisors, and at least one has thrown down the gauntlet to challenge the others.
“It looks like the sophomores are going to pull it off,” said WHS teacher David Weatherly. “I believe they are going to whip the seniors.”
Each class also has its own student directors who are responsible for overseeing the performances. Filling those roles this year are freshmen Addie Van Salisbury and Trey Main, sophomores Charon Spencer and Jordan Woolard, juniors Ferrell Sloan and Holly Alligood and seniors Lindsey Bargelt and Mary Catherine Thompson.
Bargelt and Thompson are also two seniors who were chosen to be among the eight overall student directors who offer friendly advice and critique the performances. Joining them are Janie Page, Holly Davenport, Charlie Tingen, Will Davis, Elizabeth Tanner and Jamie Landen.
“We encourage the other classes, including our own, with the different stuff they’re graded on,” Landen said. “We let them run through it, and then at the end we give them suggestions on what they can do to make it better.”