Sanders Family Christmas - December 4, 5 and 6 2009
By Alan Bailey & Connie Ray

Since it premiered in 1999, this gentle, tuneful outing has been just
the right musical gift for the whole family (and guests) at holiday
time. The Sanders family singers from Mount Pleasant Homecoming return
with their own brand of gospel harmony and joyous fun.

Directed by: Derrick Cowan

Stacy Howell - June

Stacy Vincent Howell is currently serving as the President of the
Mississippi Theatre Association after serving as Vice President and
Community Theatre Division Chair. She has also worked with the The Center
Players as President, director, assistant director, actress, as well
as various other positions.

Stacy has appeared in numerous stage productions at venues including:
Meridian Little Theatre, Meridian Community College, The Grand Opera
House of Mississippi, The Center Players Community Theatre, and
Scarbourgh Coast College in Scarbourgh, England.

Her favorite roles have included: June in Smoke on the Mountain, Babe
in Crimes of the Heart, and Popeye in The Miss Firecracker contest.
Stacy is also active in the community as an appointed member of The
City of Ridgeland’s Community Awareness Committee, and is a co-coordinator
of Colonial Heights Youth Drama Troupe – Crosswise.

Stacy is the Forensic (speech and debate) Coach for Ridgeland High
School, and she was named the 2008 MHSAA Speech / Debate / Theatre Educator
of the Year. Stacy is married to JC Howell, and they live in Ridgeland.

Ken Hackman - Burl

Ken Hackman has been very active with The Center Players since the
group’s inception. Ken directed Arsenic and Old Lace, and the
Female version of The Odd Couple, appeared as Hawkeye in M*A*S*H*, Tito
in Lend me a Tenor and Mr. March in Little Women. He served as Program
Chairman for the 2001-2002 theatre season, and Play Selection Chairman
for the 2002-2003 season. A longtime veteran of many local theatres,
some of his favorite past roles include the title roles in Dracula,
The Foreigner, and The King and I. Ken has also performed as Joe in
The Shadow Box, Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and
George in The Red Peppers, a role for which he received the Best Actor
award of the Mississippi Theatre Association (MTA) in 1989. Also an
accomplished director and technical director, Ken has won awards in
that arena as well, including Best Director at the Mississippi State
Theatre Festival in 1987. He served four terms as the Secondary School
Chairman of the MTA, and as President of both Clinton Community Theatre
and Playhouse North. Ken teaches Zoology at Madison Central High School,
and is married to Ruth Broome-Hackman, a talented actress in her own
right. They have two daughters, budding actress Mandy, 16, and Allyn,
7.

Cool Factoid: Ken and his wife are the only married couple in Mississippi
who have both won the state’s Best Actor award handed out by the
Mississippi Theatre Association.

Cynthia Stuart - Vera

Cynthia Stuart is from Pelahatchie where she owns and operates the
Studio of Vocal Technique and Piano. She is a retired educator where
she taught choral music for 28 years. She is married to Donnie Stuart,
pastor of Rock Bluff Baptist Church. Cynthia is very active in theatre
and some of her favorite roles have been: "Dolly" in Hello
Dolly,(Black Rose), "Vera" in Smoke on the Mountain, (Galloway),
"The Baroness" in Hats, (Ridgeland), "Miss Stephanie"
in To Kill a Mockingbird,(New Stage), and "Betty Meeks" in
The Foreigner.(Actor's Playhouse). Cynthia is a six year cancer survivor
and serves as Education Chair for Komen for the Cure Central Mississippi
Steel Magnolia Affiliate. She is the proud grandmother of Landon Stuart,
13 months old. She is excited to be in this production and wishes to
thank Derrick, Kathryn Dawkins, and Diane Brown for the encouragement
and the entire cast for making it so enjoyable! "I will sing
unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while
I have my being." Psalms 104:33

Bret Kenyon - Mervin Oglethorpe

Bret Kenyon originally hails from Pittsburgh , PA. He then hailed from Miami, Florida, tested the hailing in Eastern NC, found better hailing conditions in Western NC, tried some experimental hailing in Greenville, SC, then got sick of hailing and moved to Jackson--where he hails from Belhaven. When he's not hailing, Bret is enjoying his job at WJTV, cranking out some freelance writing, or playing with his aptly-named pet cat, "Squirt". He spends any remaining free time performing in such plays as The Mousetrap, Taming of the Shrew, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Harvey, Clue: The Musical, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, and is always looking for new ways to make old bios look interesting. (He strongly suggests the repeated use of the word "hail")

Sarah Welborn - Denise

Sarah is very excited to appear as Denise for her fifth time. It seems
to be a role she has grown into. With her combined interest in theater
and music, Sarah shares a passion for musicals exemplified in her performances
as Denise, the light-hearted twin with her head in the skies. Sarah
is a graduate of Mississippi College where she sang soprano in the distinguished
choir, the Mississippi College Singers. She also sang in the university’s
jazz ensemble, VocalEase. Before that, Sarah appeared onstage in many
performances at Northwest Mississippi Community College’s department
of art and theater. Now that she is in Jackson, Sarah teaches fifth
grade science at McCoy Elementary. She is a very active member of First
Baptist Church of Ridgeland, where she sings on the praise team, sanctuary
choir, and teaches children’s choirs. Sarah enjoys travelling,
reading, and snow-skiing. Sarah is also an avid painter. Viewing painting
as therapeutic, Sarah ‘s colorful interpretation is very well
done in the world of abstract art.

Derrick Cowan - Dennis

Derrick makes his directorial debut with the Center Players with Sanders
Family Christmas, the sequel to Smoke on the Mountain. After directing
the show twice in North Mississippi, this is a show he has come to love.
Derrick is a graduate of Mississippi College and serves on staff at
First Baptist Church, Ridgeland as Minister of Arts & Discipleship.
With an enthusiasm for both theater and music, Derrick is passionate
to see the church connecting with the community through the arts--expression
that unites us all. Derrick brings to the stage more than 15 years of
piano study and 8 years of vocal study. He has appeared in musical performances
such as Cinderella, 1940’s Radio Hour, Thoroughly Modern Millie,
Kilroy Was Here, Sanders Family Christmas, Smoke on the Mountain, and
The Little Princess . He has also appeared in several operatic performances
throughout the Jackson area. In his free time, Derrick enjoys golfing,
reading and Spencer, his dachshund. He also loves to play the piano
and accompanies students and performances around the metro area.

Eric Hambrick - Stanley

Eric Hahn Hambrick is a native of the Jackson area. He holds Vocal
Performance and Business Administration degrees from USM and Mississippi
College . He has performed on stages from the Great American Music Hall
in San Francisco to Carnegie Hall. Locally you may find him performing
with Mississippi Opera, The Mississippi Chorus, The Mississippi Chorus
Chamber Choir or in community theatres around the area. He has been
an active part of the music ministry of First Baptist Church in Jackson
since his teenage years. He serves on the Board of Directors at Black
Rose Theatre in Brandon . He also enjoys performing with Mississippi
Murder Mysteries. Eric was first inducted into the Sanders family as
Burl Sanders a few years back in Smoke on the Mountain so he now wishes
to thank Derrick for giving him an opportunity to be apart of this endearing
family once again as Stanley. The Sanders Family is definitely a one
of a kind experience!