TURNERS FALLS — The Brick House Community Resource Center will host the inaugural Franklin County Teen Performing Arts Showcase at the Shea Theater Arts Center on Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m. The show will feature a variety of solo and small-group performances from teens ages 11 to 17 from across Franklin County.
Performances include covers of songs like Noah Kahan’s hit “Call Your Mom,” a scene from the musical “Mean Girls” and an original skit of a dog dimension-hopping to learn about being human. The origins of the showcase come from dance teacher Anna Hendricks’ desire to support her student Ollie Pawell’s goal of performing in front of audiences and peers, drawing inspiration from a similar performance showcase in Hampshire County. “I wanted one for Franklin County, and to help students organize it,” Hendricks said.
Hendricks and Pawell teamed up with The Brick House to organize the event, collecting sponsorship and donations from local organizations and businesses. “I’ve put a lot of effort into creating dances and dancing,” Pawell said in a statement. “I’ve gotten the chance to perform on a really small scale in front of friends and family for the past couple years, but getting the chance to perform with a much larger group of other people who are interested in the performing arts is really exciting.
” Rhiannon Smith, 11, will perform a scene from “Mean Girls” with her friends. Smith said they have been performing on stage for a few yea.