Jackson offers diverse program

To the editor:

A Speak Out comment that claimed the theater program at Jackson High School was on a downward turn distressed me. As a parent of a student who wants to continue in theater, I am pleased at the variety of experiences the students have at Jackson.

The Jackson program is different than Cape Girardeau's, which is a good thing. We don't want to be identical. We don't have elaborate sets. The plays sometimes are musicals, dramas, one-act plays an reader's theater. It is impressive to see kids with few props involve the audience so completely in the story. This takes a lot of effort, and it involves more people in different styles of theater.

The Thespian program is new at JHS, and from what I see, the program is improving and moving forward all the time, keeping up with what is available to high schools.

I'm glad my student has the opportunity to be a part of this program, and I'm glad we are not trying to be a cookie-cutter copy of anyone else.

LAURA M. MEECE

Jackson