Greenup Arts has identified literacy, local cultural heritage, and experiential arts education as priorities for the county program. The Jesse Stuart music/drama project is one of the longest-running programs in Greenup Arts. As one of the most successful and world famous individuals from our community, Jesse Stuart shared the Appalachian culture that is specific to Greenup County with the entire world through his poems and stories. “A Penny’s Worth of Character” is consistently the highest selling junior novel in the 9 book series that is popular at the Jesse Stuart Foundation and Bookstore.

Scripted in 2008 with original music, a touring reduction was completed, with permission from the original writer, in 2018 in order to modify the show to travel to the local elementary schools. This was necessary due to travel costs and other barriers for school field trips. 

The 2022 tour was the most successful to date! A new young actor, Braxton Newland – second grade student from Greysbranch Elementary - took on the role of Shan Shelton. Only his second theatre production, he performed like a professional. A former Shan actor, Mason Furst, stepped into the role of Mr. Conley. Two new young actors (one a 4-H and FFA student) were added to the cast along with a new fiddle player, guitarist, first-time director, and tech/stage crew to round out the Greenup Arts touring team. 

10 shows were scheduled and performed for youth as well as adult audiences. All shows were excellent and met the benchmarks of our program. 

Partners in the production were Greenup Arts, Greenup County Farm Bureau, Jesse Stuart Foundation and Bookstore, Greenup County Schools, Raceland-Worthington Schools, JPS Cultural Arts Center, and the Kentucky State Librarians Association. 

1,100 copies of the book were given out to student audiences – thanks to Farm Bureau and the Foundation. 

Teacher survey results: 

1. All teachers added the Stuart book and a local history lesson to their classroom curriculum – less than half reported that they had read this story to their classes in the past. 
2. Teachers reported that the performance was beneficial to student understanding of the moral of the story. 
3. All teachers and administrators reported that Greenup Arts provided a quality student assembly and high level production for their schools. 
4. 100% of teachers reported that they would include Greenup Arts’ Stuart programming in their curriculum next school year.  

Teacher quotes:

1. “It was so nice to see my former students continuing on with their love for the arts!”
2. “Well-performed with local talent that made it even more engaging.”
3. “Our students loved seeing one of their peers on stage! We are very proud of him.”