Most high school students never look back once they fly the coop after graduation, but former Panther Zach Stutts continues to have a close bond with his alma mater.
After graduating in 2002, Stutts attended Mercer University and studied music, voice performance, and education, hoping to become a music teacher.
Stutts’ interest in music and the arts stemmed from his high school experience where he was a Drama student. He was also a member of the Chanticleer Choir for four years and Show Choir member for three. During his time as a Panther, Stutts starred in the school’s first five musicals.
“Music and Drama were my sport,” he said.
Helping to bolster his interest in music and the arts was his mentor, Drama teacher David Spearman, who Stutts had his senior year.
“Mr. Spearman was wonderfully supportive of my commitment and participation within the arts, and he truly championed my ambitions to go into the fine arts at college,” Stutts said. “He continues to support my efforts today to continue performing, coaching and directing theater and voice at Starr’s Mill.”
Stutts, now 29, helps out his former teacher with Drama Department productions, especially the Miss Starr’s Mill Pageant where Stutts serves as the evening wear emcee, scholarship coordinator, assistant director, and assistant producer.
Many know him for his annual $500 scholarship that he awards to one lucky individual for an outstanding talent performance in the Miss Starr’s Mill Pageant.
“When I returned to the area in the fall of 2007, I began working closely with the Drama program and Mr. Spearman by assisting with a variety of productions,” Stutts said. “In 2008, Mr. Spearman presented me with the opportunity to make a guest appearance in ‘Damn Yankees.’ It was a wonderful opportunity to return to the same stage I had spent years performing on as a student.”
He was also a part of the production teams for “Anatomy of Gray” and “The Diviners.”
Also, Stutts served as the assistant director for the Advanced Drama II Class productions and in 2011 served as the vocal coach for “Hairspray.” Last spring, he was the assistant director and music director for “Zombie Prom” and for “Our Town” last October.
“As a former participant and director, I continue to remain involved to help cultivate and foster an environment that continues to embrace the performing arts,” Stutts said, “and to mentor students who share a love of the arts as I do.”
“I want to help guide and train young performers through building their confidence and honing in on improving their craft,” Stutts said.
His latest endeavor was as the assistant director and music director of the school-wide musical “Urinetown,” which was sponsored by the Drama Department. Stutts was here almost everyday after school for months to help Spearman, who was the producer and director, prepare for the show, which had a three-day run in mid-March.
Stutts helped students perfect their musical parts by working on their dynamics and vocal technique.
“He was always here helping us,” said senior Chase Thomaston, who played the lead role of Bobby Strong, the story’s heroic protagonist. “He created a fun rehearsal environment for everyone, and his passion [for performing] was contagious to everyone involved,” Thomaston said.
In fact, Spearman said he thought that “being here has reminded [Zach] of his passion to perform.”
Senior Ethan Gallagher, who played Caldwell B. Cladwell, CEO of the “Urine Good Company,” said he finds Stutts to be “super relatable” and easy to talk to about anything because he was a former drama student and was once in the students’ shoes. Many students involved in the play also said they view Stutts as a mentor or teacher.
Although Stutts’ high school dream of becoming a music teacher didn’t turn out as planned, he did pursue a career in special education. He teaches at the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville where he has been working with non-verbal, non-ambulatory, and autistic elementary school students since 2007.
“The opportunity presented itself, I took it, and I love what I do,” said Stutts ,who first developed an interest in “special needs individuals and their ability to learn” after befriending a mentally challenged boy as a child.
When Stutts isn’t teaching, he’s volunteering in the community.
“I don’t sleep,” he said with a laugh.
His heavy involvement in the community includes his duties as a member of the Board of Directors and as the outdoor superintendent for the Fayette YMCA. Stutts first became involved in the YMCA as a junior summer camp counselor in 2000.
Stutts is also a board member and adviser for the YMCA Leaders Club, which named his the Fayette Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year in 2009.
He participates in the Fayette Outdoor Summer Camp where he has volunteered for 12 years, serving as the camp director for five. For the last two years, Stutts has been the lead instructor for the Exceptional Camp in Newnan for special needs children.
Stutts is an active participant in Relay for Life. “One of the biggest commitments I have to Fayette County is Relay for Life,” Stutts said, “and from the first time I became involved with Relay, I was hooked.”
Stutts has volunteered for the last six years serving as the team recruitment chair, the event chair, and this year, the entertainment chair and emcee.
Even though he devotes most of his time to teaching, volunteering, and mentoring, he still manages to find time to perform.
Stutts is a member of the Henry Players theater group and in their most recent production, he played the lead role of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein in the musical, “Frankenstein.” Some members of the Drama Department saw his performance.
“I think he’s an extremely talented individual,” Thomaston said. “His voice is incredible and he’s a brilliant performer because he always gives his heart in his performance.”
Currently, Stutts busies himself by preparing for the role of Prince Dauntless in the Henry Players’ “Once Upon a Mattress,” a musical rendition of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” which he will star in later this spring.