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Teen of the Week: Parkersburg South senior Cate Evans juggles full schedule, with no signs of slowing down

By Douglass Huxley 6 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Parkersburg South High School senior Cate Evans has so much on her plate at all times, people often ask how she manages it all.

"Lots of planning," Evans said. "I just love it all so much that I couldn't imagine even just missing one of them."

At South she is the student council president, the vice president of the National Honor Society, a member of the symphonic and marching bands, part of the school theater troupe and has joined the school's choir this year.

"My schedule at school is very full, but this year I had room, and with a little work, I was able to do choir this year and I'm really enjoying it," Evans said.

She said choir has helped with her theater work by giving her new ways of projecting her voice and the tone she uses to do so.

"I'm excited for our spring musical because being in choir has really helped me tune the singing aspect for the musicals, which I think will be very beneficial," Evans said.

Evans said her interest in theater and musicals began after a middle school trip to New York City to see a production of "Aladdin" on Broadway.

"We did a class with the 'Aladdin' choreographers on Broadway, and that's kind of what got it started," Evans said. "That fall, I think it was, Blennerhassett Middle School did 'Aladdin' and I got to be an extra in that. I haven't stopped with theater since."

Evans said she's been a part of nearly 20 productions since then, some with the Actors Guild of Parkersburg, including "Aladdin," "The Lion King," "Elf," "Mary Poppins," "Frozen," "Godspell" and "Footloose." She recently played the part of Mother Parker in the South production of "A Christmas Story" and she said she is now preparing for the upcoming regional theater competition of "Brownstone 213," which will take place at South this year.

"Competition shows are very interesting," Evans said. "We have 45 minutes from when we get on the stage to when we get off the stage. And we perform a one-act show in that timeframe."

She said this includes the stage setup, the performance and then the stage breakdown. She said if they do well in the regional they will then move on to the state competition at West Virginia University.

Evans said there was more to theater that she loved than just the acting, singing and competing.

"I also love the dancing that goes along with the musicals," Evans said.

She said she has been dancing since she was young, taking a break from it for awhile after first grade but returning to it in seventh grade. She said she now dances competitively with Tina's Dance Studio-One, traveling most years to perform at Disney World. This year the group is doing a showcase at Universal Studios instead, due to a scheduling conflict.

"It's not a competition but we'll showcase our dances and then there is a competition in Florida, in that area, that we will go to after," Evans said. "And then we'll go to another competition in Pittsburgh at a later date."

Evans said she enjoys the dancing aspects of musical theater productions, which originally drew her back to dance. She said that competing with her studio group allows her to challenge herself with new routines.

She said she is also very involved with 4-H and is on the state 4-H Teen Council, which is a group of teen leaders from around the state that plans activities and events. At the county level, she is part of the Lucky Clovers Club and the Team Leaders Group. She looks forward to upcoming events like the Christmas Council Circle and Dance Weekend.

Dance Weekend is a special event where 4-H members from across the state get together to learn different styles of dancing such as square dancing, polka, folk dances and line dances. Evans enjoys 4-H because it allows her to get more involved at the state level and meet other teens with similar interests in agriculture and leadership.

"The cool thing about 4-H is I'm allowed to be a part of it until I'm 21," Evans said. "I get to continue it into college, and it's not something that I'll just be leaving behind."

When asked about college, Evans said she doesn't have any plans in place yet for a specific school she wants to attend, although she has applied and been accepted to a few. However, she does know what she wants to study.

"I'd like to be a doctor," Evans said.

She said her goal is to become a doctor because she enjoys helping people. She said that she is most interested in attending West Virginia University because she was directly admitted to their immunology and medical microbiology program. She said she likes that WVU's program is more specialized and that she is also interested in their biomedical laboratory diagnostics program. Her top career choices are to become a dermatologist or pediatrician because she finds skin and working with kids fascinating.

"I think it would be fun to work with kids all day," Evans said.

In her free time, Evans said, she enjoys hanging out with family and friends and having bonfires, taking riding lessons at En'Kara Farms with horse Blessa, and spending time with her pets: dogs Boo and Peppermint, a cat named Missy, a turtle named Maya and two snails named Shelly B and Shelly W.

"I love animals," Evans said. "I love them so much. I would have as many as I could fill my house with if I was allowed."

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

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A Glance at Cate Evans

* Senior at Parkersburg South High School

* Student council president

* Vice president of the National Honor Society

* Member of the South Choir and Treble A Cappella Group

* Member of the South Symphonic and Marching bands, where she plays the flute and piccolo

* Member of the Parkersburg South High School Theater Troupe

* Participant in multiple productions with the Actors Guild of Parkersburg

* Rides horses at En'kara Farms

* Lifetime member of 4-H and part of the West Virginia Teen Leader Council

* Dances at Tina's Dance Studio-One

* Member of the youth group at Washington United Methodist Church

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