A series of questions and answers with RCHS teacher Briar Patch writer/director Jeff Hufford. The annual series of shows begins Sunday in the Laughlin Center.
Q.) How long have the Briar Patch Players been a tradition in Rush County?
A.) “I created the Briar Patch group in 1991, so this marks our 17th season. The group is loosely based on what was formerly known as the Slabtown Players with Marcia Blair at the helm in 1965.”
Q.) How many spoofs are contained in this year’s show?
A.) “There are six scenes in this years show. One of the scenes was written by Marcia Blair.”
Q.) Has the popularity of realty TV had an impact on the humor of the Briar Patch skits?
A.) “I have always wanted to do a skit about reality television. Cable television actually give us a lot more fodder for making fun of society in general because cable creates more entertainment news. For example, we would not care about Anna Nicole Smith of Paris Hilton except there they are on television all of the time. In years past one had to have some talent to be on television, that is not the case anymore. Society has become so starved for entertainment that now we can sit here in Rush County and make a lot of fun of society because people here have real values, real principals and care about people.”
Q.) How do you think the county reacts to having actual events being made light of?
A.) “ We are a county with a great sense of humor, especially about ourselves, and I like that about Rush County. We are all able to sit back and laugh about each other, ourselves and the situations we get ourselves into and our behaviors. A lifestyle like ours in a rural community is really great. What the Briar Patch does underscores the quality of young people we have and the knowledge that this is a good place to grow up.”
Q.) What, if any, connection do the sequence of the scenes have to one another?
A.) “ The five scenes that lead up to the finale are basically an opportunity for the teens to show off their talent. The last scene is where we say growing up in Rush County is a great thing.”
Q.) Are the Players allowed to ad lib parts of the show?
A.) “The show is pretty well structured because I will not let the actors do anything on stage that they haven’t passed through me first. Sometimes the student will give them an idea, but my thought is don’t do it on stage unless the idea passes through me first. Every once in a while something will slip through our fingers, but generally we want the kids to be responsible and understand that there are many ages represented in the audience and just as many outlooks. We want the kids to have respect for other people.”
Q.) Do you think some of the intimacy of the production is lost by the use of a big stage versus the Slabtown Players performing in the closeness of a smaller setting?
A.) “I think the current environment gives the viewer a better forum because you are watching kids acting either alone or in small groups. By using the Laughlin Center we do lose a little of the folksiness offered by a smaller environment, but at the same time the audience can see and hear the performance better — not to mention air-conditioning.”
Q.) What are your thoughts on this year’s show, “Rush County: Feel The Excitement?”
A.) “I think this show will be great fun. The kids have been very loyal and that is the thing I want to underscore. The way the show is put together, as far as the kids are concerned, echoes the kind of values that we are trying to represent: togetherness, serendipity and working together. Everybody contributes on their own and in their own way. In Rush County a lot of things are possible because people do and can work together. We are trying to keep the tradition alive that began in 1965 with Mrs. Blair. I like this year’s show, there are a lot of different things in it.”
News
Related Photos
Discussion
Since You Asked: Jeff Hufford
- News
-
-
RCCF Education Fund Grants awarded
The Rush County Education Fund Grants Committee recently met to review grant applications for the 2012 grant cycle and to make their recommendations to the Rush County Community Foundation's Board of Directors.
-
Commissioners hear of feasibility study
The Rush County Commissioners met earlier this week and heard a report regarding a feasibility study currently underway regarding the city possibly running an ambulance service out of the Rushville Fire Department.
-
Pool open
Waggener Community Pool will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The pool will be closed Monday and Tuesday and then open again Wednesday as was originally scheduled. Information: 932-7100.
-
Farmers Market
The Rush County Farmers and Artisans Market kicks off the 2012 season at 9 a.m. Saturday in the 100 block of East Third Street in downtown Rushville!
-
Good Samaritan recognized for heroic efforts
The lives of three complete strangers became intertwined the morning of Oct. 25, 2011.
-
Lion Project showing community pride
If you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed that new concrete lions are showing up all over town.
-
Waggener Pool opening Saturday and Sunday
In an update to this story, the City announced plans today to open Waggener Community Pool earlier than originally planned due to expected high temperatures over Memorial Weekend. Mayor Mike Pavey has asked that the pool be open this coming Saturday and Sunday. Hours will be noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The pool will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day and Tuesday, and open again Wednesday, May 30, as was originally scheduled.
-
Why do young white women risk cancer to be tan?
A CDC report out this month found that nearly one in three white women aged 18 to 25 had used a tanning booth in the previous year. White women aged 18 to 21 went the most often, averaging 27.6 sessions per year—that’s over two sessions per month—while nearly 70 percent said they had gone at least 10 times in the last year.
-
Collision lands driver in Indy trauma center
A Milroy woman sustained serious injuries in a single vehicle accident on SR 244 west of Milroy that was reported shortly after 1 p.m. Monday.
-
Todd resigns
Bill Todd (center) is pictured during a recent meeting of the Rush County Commissioners at which he formally announced that he had turned in his resignation as the Rush County Area Plan Director. Todd has served in the capacity of APC director since 1998.
- More News Headlines
-
RCCF Education Fund Grants awarded
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
