Floyd Central seniors (left to right) Max Gosman,
Don’t expect an average high school Beauty and the Beast production when Floyd Central High School’s theater department raises the curtain for its first performance of the musical Feb. 16. The troupe is too accomplished for that. For the past three years, the school’s young thespians have been selected to perform in Scotland at the American High School Theatre Festival. They have also been chosen to take their shows to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb. 
Amy Harpenau and Ben Clark in Zombie Prom garb.
"Some of the kids take this as seriously as if it were their career," says Chris Bundy, Floyd Central’s director of theater arts. "We run our program just like a professional theater." That means more than 50 actors are practicing more than 15 hours a week preparing for opening night. It also means Bundy, who has been director since 1996, is quite a busy guy, arriving at school by 7 a.m. and not leaving until after 9 p.m. But it’s the long hours he spends with his students that help him realize when the time is right to pull off a performance such as Beauty and the Beast.
"You need some seasoned actors for a play like this," Bundy says. "I finally have the right kids to do it."
Ben Clark, a senior who had the lead role in the school’s fall production of Zombie Prom, plays Gaston. Clark says he much admires Bundy’s ability to place students into the roles that best fit them. And he thinks Beauty and the Beast’s cast stands out from the others he has been a part of. "I see great potential for Beauty and the Beast to be one of the best things we’ve ever done," Clark says.
The theater department will sp/files/storyimages/more than $60,000 on sets, costumes and effects for the show, but Bundy knows it will still be a moneymaker. While a few shows have lost money, biggies like The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Carol or Beauty and the Beast can rake in more than $40,000.
Sitting in his office, Bundy points to a photograph of a home pinned to his bulletin board. "That’s where I live. It’s an old Victorian house," he says. "I have a picture up so I can remember where I live."
A student dressed in costume — plaid pants, oversized sweater, taped black glasses — barges in and asks about the practice schedule. Bundy answers and the student scoots backstage.
"It’s actually my second house," Bundy says as he looks at the picture again. "School is my first."
Beauty and the Beast performances are scheduled for Feb. 16-17 and 23-24 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 18 and 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and $10 for students. Call (812) 923-8811 for more information.
