 The COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine are different, and it's safe to get both vaccines at the same time, so don't hesitate. Vaccinate! The Pike County Health Department reminds you that the strongest defense is vaccination against flu and COVID. The artist's collaborative theater will be bringing magic to the Gearhart Auditorium with their upcoming performance of Puffs. I've been advocating for this show for about three years now. I saw the filmed production from off-Broadway about three years ago and thought there were some things in the script that would do well in our region and with our teens at ACT. Puffs is described as seven increasingly eventful years at a certain school of magic and magic. I felt as though the messaging of the show and the beauty of the show is that it centers around the struggles that normal teenagers have, the feelings that normal teenagers feel like, you know, you don't fit in or that you're unimportant next to the jock who seems to have everything handed to him. While the show is a parody, the characters of the show reflect the performer's real-life stories and struggles. I get to play myself on stage. Wayne wants to be important, he wants to be a leader because leadership has friends. A leader has friends and people that he's good people he surrounds him with. I relate to her in the way that she wants to be able to connect with people and be friends with them and be there for them and laugh and cry and smile just with like having people around her that she knows loves her and that she loves back as well. Oliver is an incredibly smart guy. He got a chance to go to Oxford at the age of 11 years old, but instead he decided to go to a wizarding school in England and he got to meet all these friends. I'm obviously not as smart as Oliver, but I feel like it kind of ties in with my theater stuff. I could have stayed on the basketball team and, you know, I might have been pretty good at basketball, but instead I chose to go to ACT where I made this core group of strong, faithful, trustworthy friends. The cast is comprised almost entirely of teenagers with about four adults in the play. It is a parody, so a lot of it is far fetched, but there is a lot of truth in the play and if you come see it, you'll have these teenagers, they'll make you laugh until you cry and then you'll just cry regular tears too because they also break your heart a little at the end. The show will be at the Breaks Park Convention Center March 11th and 12th and at the Gearheart Convention Center March 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th. Tickets are $12 and can be bought at BreaksPark.com or MacArts.com. For Mountain Top News, I'm Breanna Robinson.