School enhances dramatic offerings

Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts is significantly enhancing its approach to one of the fine arts: Drama.

Actor and educator Derek Sitter has taken a part-time position at the school. Sitter, who has extensive experience in theater, film and TV, also teaches at Central Oregon Community College.

He also has some skills as a carpenter. He converted an outbuilding next to the school into a music/performance room with a small stage, and he is building an outdoor stage behind the school with materials donated by Hoyt's Hardware & Building Supply.

"I'm doing all the building myself," Sitter said.

The stage is making room for a large ponderosa pine that looms over the school.

"We're going to go around the tree, so the tree will be part of the stage," Sitter said.

The students at the school are excited about their new stage and the opportunity to act.

"We're actually looking at Wizard of Oz for our first production (next spring)," Sitter said.

There will be shorter Christmas shows this season.

Sitter is a firm believer in arts-centered education. He says it brings out the best in children.

"They're so creative," he said. "And then their test scores go way up. It builds their self-confidence. They become more self-reliant."

Sitter has had a successful acting career, with appearances in many TV shows, including "ER" (1998) and Zoey 101 (2005). He's also done many commercials.

Like many other Central Oregonians, he moved here looking for a better way of life.

"I was working a lot as an actor in L.A.," he said. "It was nice. When I turned 40, the novelty of L.A. was wearing off and I had a little daughter."

He and his family decided to move to Central Oregon to be near grandparents in Bend.

For more information about Sitter, visit http://www.imdb.com. For more information about Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts, visit http://www.sisterscharterschool.org.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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