True passion — the sparkle in someone’s eye when they’re doing something they adore — isn’t easily hidden, and it seems to be exactly what a certain group of Barbourville teenagers possess when it comes to the theater.

A group of students from Barbourville Independent High School have been faithfully traveling to the Bell Theater weekly to practice for their upcoming production of Director’s Nightmare — a show they’ve put together almost independently with the help of Bell Theater Director Heather Golden.

“Every Wednesday we’re always so excited at school because we know that afterwards we get to come here (the Bell Theater) and practice for the show,” said Mason Logan, a member of the group.

The production consists of 10 students all together, all of whom claim to have a great love for the theater. Two members are even already impressively capable of calling themselves award winning actors.

Logan, 15, along with Hunter Jones, 18, both brought home individual awards from the Eastern Kentucky Dramatic Arts Society (EKDAS) for their performances within the group last year, with Logan being the only freshman at the time to be ranked within the top ten actors in the competition.

Their alliance with the Bell Theater began when Logan’s mother decided to reach out to Golden about the talented group of teenagers, upon being notified of Golden’s new goal of implicating more culture and art into the community through the theater. Since then, the group and Golden seem to have developed a special bond, as they all share the same passion and drive.

“I believe this is a great example of how a community can come together to bring the arts into the area, which I feel like we desperately need,” said Jones.

Golden and the group have planned a public showing of the production for New Year’s weekend, and encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the show that they’ve worked so hard to perfect.

“They are a wonderful, talented group of teenagers who I truly enjoy getting to know. I look forward to working with them now, and on future productions as well. Everyone should come out and show their support for these kids,” said Golden.