NEA Education Spotlight: Riverside High School Theater Club Enhances Students’ Lives

LAKE CITY, Ark. — Meet Tori Prichard, the woman behind the masks – the drama masks, much like those that adorn the front of the building.

Prichard, the English and Theater teacher at Riverside High, started the Theater Club in 2019. A Paragould High School graduate, Prichard has always shown a love for the arts. When she accepted the English teaching position at Riverside, she realized there was no theater program at the school.

So Prichard took matters into her own hands. “I’m also certified to teach theater. I’d love to bring that back,” she told administrators. She said the school was all for it.

Prichard said Riverside built the theater program from “ground zero,” but in the years since the program’s inception, it has certainly grown. “Now we put on a minimum of two shows a year,” Prichard told NEA Report.

According to Prichard, in addition to the Theater Club’s artistic and entertainment value, it also provides an outlet worth so much more to many students. She said some participants in the program may enter as reclusive, not even knowing their own potential.

“My goal as a director is to unlock that part of the kids that they may or may not even know is there,” and she certainly accomplished that with one of her biggest success stories.

One of those success stories came from a young student who graduated in May 2025:

“He did have some anger that he was able to channel into acting,” Prichard said. “Everybody would come up to me and say, ‘I can’t believe you got him on stage,’ and everyone who would leave would say, ‘That kid is talented.’”

Prichard’s former student now holds a full-time job, and she said she’s seen his name as part of productions with three different theater companies. His future is bright, and Prichard is optimistic about his potential.

“I truly feel that he could go on to be a professional because he is just so talented,” Prichard said. “He sings and he acts and he’s a natural in every role I ever gave him.”

Prichard said the school district is a big supporter of the program, but as a program in a small district, a lot of the burden to bring this dream to fruition falls on her shoulders.

“I am the only person who runs the program. I’m the director, assistant director, choreographer, and sound technician. I’m a costumer. I’m everything,” she said as she laughed.

Prichard is using her passion by working hard to advance the theater program.

“I try to pick shows to challenge the actors, but also provide challenges for people who haven’t done it before,” she explained, and it’s all because she has bigger goals in mind.

Prichard is also working diligently to set up a thespian society at Riverside. Her dream is to accompany her students to thespian festivals every year. And for a small program, like the one at Riverside, the accomplishment would be monumental.

Prichard mused, “We play a little bit of Tetris, but we make it work.”

The program is very small. The majority of funding comes from ticket sales to their two-yearly productions. Their next production is Mean Girls: The Musical. Funding helps build sets, costumes, travel expenses for state competition, and other needs. As part of their support for the program, the Ramsons Arts & Education Sponsorship will donate $1,000 to support their efforts.