Shew Buddy, What a Summer! 

Summer is in full swing in southeastern Kentucky and we've been hard at work. In June, Higher Ground staff Alexia Ault, Devyn Creech, Marissa Rutherford and Maria Lewis taught the storytelling track at the Cowan Creek Music School. We had a wonderful group of students from across Letcher County as well as a few from Frankfort, New York, and even England. The storytelling students spent much of the week telling supernatural stories from Eastern Kentucky. On Friday they presented Headless Annie, a short scene about three versions of a popular Harlan County ghost story. We were honored to work with the music school and get to know so many talented storytellers.
We've also been hard at work on new Shew Buddy episodes. In May we presented The Dot Show, stories about innovators and change-makers in our community based on the character, Dot, from Find a Way. In June we presented The Veteran Show, a compilation of stories about patriotism, veterans, and the debt we owe those in service. This show was inspired by Higher Ground cast member, Rutland Melton. Throughout the episode Rutland shares his own experience. These episodes are now available on iTunes. 
July and August are going to be just as busy and we are so excited for all our new projects. In July we will be co-hosting the Hurricane Gap Community Theater Institute with Cowan Creek Community Theater Group. The institute will be a week long skill-sharing opportunity for community performance theater groups and individuals from across the Central Appalachia region. In August we will be co-hosting the Harlan County Rural Urban Exchange. Check back for more information about each of these upcoming projects.