Fee Hedrick Family Entertainment Group

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - Three new cloggers have double-toed, step-rocked, brushed and dragged their way to The Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Mallory Matney, of Branson, Mo., and sisters Megan and Ashley Mercereau, of Boone, N.C., are the newest performers kicking up their heels nightly at “The Funniest Show in Town.” All are award-winning cloggers and are featured at various times throughout the show.

Matney, age 20, comes to The Comedy Barn from Branson, Mo., where she’s been a professional dancer for the past seven years. She’s danced in Anita Bryant and Jim Stafford’s shows, and was a featured performer at Branson Landing. She graduated with honors from Branson High School, and earned her associate’s degree from Ozarks Technical Community College. She most recently studied clogging with Stan Webb, director of the Clogging Sensation Team at The Dance Warehouse in Ozark, Mo.

This is also Matney’s first move away from home, and she explains she was eager about it. “I graduated from college and on the same day, I moved out here with my car stuffed. It has been an amazing experience, and I am loving the Barn. I get to do what I love most, clog!”

Pigeon Forge isn’t new to the Mercereau sisters, but they too say they are enjoying being in the area and clogging at The Comedy Barn. Both have been dancing since they were toddlers and they got their professional starts at Tweetsie Railroad theme park, outside their hometown of Boone, N.C.

Younger sister Ashley explains “ever since I was old enough to remember, my family and I have vacationed in Pigeon Forge. It’s a great family spot in which I have many wonderful memories. I feel honored to be able to work here, and I love the many different types of entertainment found here.”

Because of their fond memories, the sisters came to Sevierville about one year ago to work at the former Alabama Grill (now Country Legends Grill). When clogger spots opened at The Comedy Barn, David Fee and Jim Hedrick, co-owners of the Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group which produces “The Comedy Barn” show, asked the sisters to join the cast.

Ashley, 19, still works some day shifts at Country Legends Grill and is a student at Carson Newman College. Older sister Megan, 22, is a May 2006 graduate of Mars Hill College, where she earned her bachelor’s in music education and danced on scholarship with the award-winning Bailey Mountain Cloggers team. Megan also has a day job as a full-time music teacher at Pigeon Forge Primary and Wearwood Elementary schools.

When asked what part of the show they most like to perform, all three cloggers agree it’s their dancing solo to Josh Gracin’s “Nothin’ to Lose.” Ashley says, “It gives the audience a chance to learn our names and favorite steps.”

They also are quick to point out that they are real cloggers, not tap dancers made to look like they are clogging. And they have numerous awards to prove that they are the real thing. All three have won titles at the Clogging Championships of America and National Clogging and Hoedown Competition.

The Comedy Barn Theater is located one-half block south of traffic light No. 3 on U.S. 441 (The Parkway) in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Open year ’round, The Comedy Barn has two shows nightly in season at 5:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., as well as some scheduled matinees for groups throughout the season. Adult tickets are $21.95, plus tax. One child, age 11 and under, is admitted free with each paying adult. Additional child tickets are $9.95, plus tax. For tickets, call 1-800-29 LAUGH. For more information, visit www.comedybarn.com.

“The Comedy Barn” show is produced by Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group, which is the second largest privately-owned entertainment company in the Southeastern U.S. The company also owns and operates The Miracle Theater, Black Bear Jamboree Theater, and Magic Beyond Belief Theater in Pigeon Forge. For more information about any of Fee/Hedrick’s shows, visit www.feehedrick.com.