Mr. Padgett Drama Website: Cleveland County Schools

Mr Padgett was born in Shelby and went to Graham School, Cleveland School, Shelby Jr High, and graduated from Shelby High School in 1981. He tried out for his first play in the 10th grade and quit the swim team when he began landing leading roles. He then went on to study Theatre in college and was offered a full scholarship at Winthrop University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech/ Theatre. He has worked extensively as an actor in Charlotte as well as travelling across the United States and Canada in several touring productions. After appearing in over 75 productions, Mr Padgett returned home to take the job of Drama teacher in 1992. The North Carolina Theatre Conference has awarded him Best Director 6 times through his work with High School students as well as winning Best Play in the state three times.Those plays were "Brighton Beach Memoirs", "Fried Pies :The Tawdry Tale of Mitzi Massingale"[which he co-wrote with his best friend and co-Director Kathie Burgin], and "Lone Star". Most importantly though, Mr Padgett gets to give back to the community by teaching the children of Cleveland county to love the Arts as he was taught to many years ago.