What are you trying to conserve?

of “Bah Humbug!” While it wasn’t a production from Broadway, it was certainly enjoyable, and it was clear that the majority of the students involved worked very hard on this production. I have been actively involved in the theater profession for the majority of my life; my mother currently works for a theater in Gainesville. I love theater more than the average person, that is for sure, but I also understand the importance it has on people today, yesterday and tomorrow. So, it seems, does Hamilton County. During that show, I saw multiple elected officials, community leaders, and the majority of Hamilton County High School administration in attendance. This made me very happy for the actors on stage, but it also made me think about all the areas that Riverbend Newscovers.

I graduated from Suwannee High School in 2020. We had just finished preparing for our spring show, “All Shook Up,” a retelling of “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare, but with all songs being remixed Elvis Presley songs. This is a fun concept, and the entire class was excited to perform. Unfortunately, the school shut down due to COVID-19, and the performance never saw the light of day. The year before that, we performed a show titled “Curtains,” a 1950s-style musical mystery comedy show. Despite months of endless work from all local students, I remember being disappointed in the attendance in Suwannee County. I was hurt by a county that claims to be so conservative, that claims to think about their community and to support their students. Yet, when it came to supporting the arts, there was, well, no support. Since then, I

have attended multiple attempts from people hoping to bring their love of the arts to Suwannee County. The Sound of Suwannee is an excellent example of students who work exceptionally hard all year learning and mastering some of the most challenging instruments invented. Again, the audience attendance of the band's most recent performance was minimal; meanwhile, just across the hall in the gym, the entire gym was packed to the brim with people watching wrestling. You, Suwannee County, have failed your children and your community! You claim to support students, but you only support students doing things you like to watch. The football games are packed, and when there are baseball games, it’s hard to find a seat. However, students who work tirelessly behind the scenes for just as much time as the athletes, yet with far less than half of the time in front of the crowd, get nothing in response.

The arts, whether that be music, musicals, plays, drawing, art shows or anything else related to the arts, are beneficial for everyone involved in just the same ways that sports are, and sometimes in even more ways. First, the arts encourage creativity. They help access a part of the brain that isn’t consistently accessed. They inspire and help create new scenarios, situations, theories and even emotions. They are educational; they help teach about social issues, historical issues, and even history itself. Take “Hamilton” for example. While many people were annoyed by the sudden love for the Broadway show and the constant playing of the music, they were so distracted by their own dislike of something they missed the importance of the musical. It helped teach an entire generation of youth the history of America and educated them on multiple founding fathers. “Les Miserables” teaches about the French Revolution; “Newsies” educated about the newsboys strike of 1899; “The Sound of Music” is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria Von Trapp, whose family opposed the Nazi party; “Fiddler on the Roof” teaches about Jewish culture, specifically in Russia during the 1900s; “Anastasia” is an adaptation of the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia; “The King and I” is based off the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, the governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s. These are just a handful of musicals that tackle history; the entire number would probably be astonishing to see.