SILER CITY, N.C. — Sawyer Shafer, a theater professional based in Greensboro, has been selected to direct “Oklahoma!,” the spring musical at Jordan-Matthews High School. Dates for “Oklahoma!” will be confirmed later this month with a possible, one-week shift from the originally announced dates to accommodate the new director’s schedule.

Before moving to North Carolina earlier this year, Shafer spent two years as director and producer of Finneytown High School’s musical theater program in Cincinnati. Before that, he was founder and CEO of Sansami Creative Works, which produced plays and original sketch comedy, and volunteered as an acting and production consultant at Mechanicsburg High School in Urbana, Ohio. He holds a bachelor’s degree in theater studies magna cum laude from Wright State University.

Shafer was introduced to students in early December during a short lunch and overview of the musical, and was encouraged by that first impression.

“Having worked with student-aged performers in some capacity every year for the last seven years, I can honestly say that I have never had a group of students that has been this excited for auditions,” he said. “I’m excited to see what they bring to the show, and extremely ready to get to work with my collaborators on the creative team.”

He is hoping that audiences will get a new perspective on the plot of this iconic musical that recently ran for 328 performances on Broadway in a re-imagined production that closed just weeks before the pandemic shutdown.

Shafer succeeds Jessica Nunn, the longtime director at Jordan-Matthews, who relocated this fall to teach in England.

“I’m impressed with Mr. Shafer’s qualifications, experience and outlook,” said Rose Pate, who produces JM theater. “We share the goal of providing a quality learning opportunity for students as well as a great theater performance for our community.”

“Oklahoma!” is produced with assistance from JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, which provides funding for the director, costumes, set supplies and incidental expenses. JMArts is supported by contributors throughout the community and occasional grants for special educational programs.

This year, those special programs include a Latin jazz clinic for student musicians and a free public concert on Jan. 28 by Gregg Gelb and La Fiesta Latin Jazz Sextet, as well as the third-annual JMArts Spring Theater Workshop for student actors that runs after school from Apr. 25 through May 6.

More information about JMArts, including a schedule of all upcoming arts events and information on membership, is available online at JMArts.org.

# # # #