The Bear Creek School's Fine and Performing Arts Department Presents "Silverthorne"

REDMOND, Wash. - May 10, 2016 - PRLog -- Come see Silverthorne, a Bear Creek original dramatic production written by senior Seth McBride.

Silverthorne is a tale of greed, corruption, and murder in a small, fictional western town. The play begins with a poker tournament as the setting for a series of events which intertwine into a Whodunit? thriller. As the story unfolds a mysterious character, the Night Hawk, appears and plays the role of a self-appointed vigilante. A train wreck and the disappearance of a fortune in gold complicate the plot. Although McBride describes the play's theme as straight-forward, "love is more important than money or power," theater-goers would be wise to be on the lookout for multiple plot twists!

"Every investment is a gamble; this one just happens to involve a saloon, cards, and poker chips," states the character Jack Whitworth in Silverthorne. Seth made an investment and took a gamble, writing Silverthorne in the spring of his junior year while playing a leading role in another Bear Creek original production, ROCK Candy and Cinnamon ROLL, written by Upper School drama director Dr. Ron Lynch. Seth says he challenged himself, "If Dr. Lynch can write a play, maybe I can do it too." After encouragement from his friends and classmates and discussion with Dr. Lynch, he spent three intense weeks writing in order to finish the play before the end of the school year. The play was accepted for a spring 2016 production, and Seth spent the summer working on revisions with Dr. Lynch.

Seth says that he enjoyed the entire writing process, but he likes the initial brainstorming of the overall story arc and plot points the most. He describes himself as a "big picture guy." He is planning to study screen writing at Biola University next year, so the future will certainly hold many such writing opportunities.

Seth is a veteran Bear Creek thespian, having acted in all eight theatrical productions during his high school career. In the last four years, he played Gravedigger 2 in Hamlet, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Ford in The Scoundrel, an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, Rock Candy in ROCK Candy and Cinnamon ROLL, Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing, and he plays the villain, Mayor, in this production of Silverthorne. This year his dual role is unusual since Dr. Lynch is directing him as the character Mayor, but also looking to him for revisions when necessary to unravel sticky staging issues or plot subtleties. Seth says he's really impressed with how well Dr. Lynch understands each character's point of view and is also thrilled with the spot-on cast and how they have all nailed their roles. McBride hopes that the audience will be entertained as they follow the clues leading to the final scene when all is revealed.

In lieu of charging admission, donations will be accepted to support completion of Bear Creek's new Performing Arts Center. Our patrons' generosity will help move us closer toward the realization of a high-quality, dedicated theater experience for students and audience members.

All performances are open to the public. The Bear Creek School Cornerstone Theater, 8905 208th Ave NE, Redmond WA, 98053, 452-898-1720, www.tbcs.org

Performance Schedule

Thursday, May 19, 2016, Matinee Performance 4:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 19, 2016, Evening Performance 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 21, 2016, Matinee Performance 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 21, 2016, Evening Performance 8:00 p.m.

Director-Dr. Ron Lynch, Upper School drama teacher at The Bear Creek School

Several of the roles in Bear Creek's production of Silverthorne are double-cast to allow more students to experience and stretch their dramatic muscle.

Main Characters- in this production will be played by the following Bear Creek students:

JACK          Matthew Meyer, senior, Woodinville

         Sam Humphries, senior, Sammamish

BELLE          Maya Shipway, senior, Bothell

         Sara Heimberger, senior, Redmond

BOOTHBY          Matthew Gere, senior, Enumclaw

MALCOM          Alex Gephart, sophomore, Woodinville

ANNIE          Amy Burch, sophomore, Redmond

MAYOR          Seth McBride, senior, Carnation

About The Bear Creek School

Founded in 1988, in Redmond, Washington, The Bear Creek School is an independent classical Christian school that believes only when faith, mind, and heart are fed together can students experience the fullness of education which produces leaders who think well and are compelled to engage the world.

Recognized as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School, Bear Creek serves students from the greater Eastside and is housed on three campuses. Redmond Campus on Union Hill serves kindergarten to grade 12 students. Valley Campus, also in Redmond, serves preschool students. Bear Creek Preschool has an additional campus in Sammamish serving students ages 3-5. The Bear Creek School is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools and AdvancED/Northwest Accreditation Commission.