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See a Show!
Community theater a possibility in Bath?
By Margo Oxendine
WARM SPRINGS - Curtain up! Light the lights! We've got nothing to hit but the heights!
If you hear Ethel Merman singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses," chances are the theater is in your blood.
And if you live around here, your opportunities are slim: travel to see a show, or sit home and wonder why there is no community theater in Bath.
Highland County has done it, and done it well. Why can't we?
Why not, indeed.
There is a nice stage and 800-plus comfy seats at the high school. There are folks who have proven vocal, instrumental and dance talents. And heaven knows, we have our share of those with a dramatic flair. So why not get everyone together and put on a show?
That's the plan.
We have a valuable asset here in Bath now: a native who's gone out and made his successful way in the world of theater, now come home to roost. Veteran actor Michael Sharp has agreed to help form a community theater group, provided the interest is there.
Terry Kershner, a woman with talented children and a passion for the performing arts - in fact, she heads that committee for the Bath County Arts Association - has set Sunday, Jan. 13 as the date to gauge that interest. Anyone with any interest and/or skills related to the theater should plan to meet at the Bath County Public Library that afternoon at 4 p.m.
Can you act, sing, dance, or play an instrument? Do your hidden talents include set design, construction, painting, costuming, props, or stage direction? Do you know how to work the lights, or manipulate the sound board? Are you a whiz at makeup, choreography, or public relations? Do you know the ins and outs of fund-raising, or grant writing?
If your answer to one or more of the above is yes, and you'd welcome the chance to hop on a bandwagon full of fun, this meeting is for you.
"Michael offered to help put this together," Kershner noted this week. "We are very lucky to have him here, and willing to do this. So, we decided we'd throw this out there; see what happens, and who shows up. It just might turn into a really good thing."
If it sounds like fun, but you're on the fence, consider this: Sharp just helped Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, W.Va. stage a socko production of "42nd Street." And he has an Andrew Lloyd Webber show in mind for Bath, should enough people show an interest.
Interested? Come Sunday to the library. If you can't make it, but your interest is strong, call Kershner at (540) 839-5191.
We've got nothing to hit but the heights!
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