Bartow theater guild looking to build creative, like-minded community

Mary Alice Gaston-Poole knows what it feels like to connect with a group of people, to find a community where you are not afraid to be yourself, and now she and the rest of the Bartow Schoolhouse Players are looking for other creatives to join in the fun.

She was a new mom in 2002 when she first got involved with the players and Bartow Community Club’s Mancin Auditorium. In two years she performed in six plays, including her starring role in Honky Tonk Angels. This year, as a new empty nester, she rediscovered the Schoolhouse Players and starred as Sister Leo in their recent production of Nunsense.

“There’s so much creative freedom as well as a little bit or escapism,” she said. “I love tapping into my inner child. That playfulness is so important and we don’t get a lot of chances to explore it as adults. When I was a new mom it gave me time away to do something on my own without the kids. Now, it’s going back to that place where I can be curious. It’s therapeutic.”

More than the performances, it is the social aspect of local theater that she said she loves the best, being with other creative, like-minded people, who are excited about collaborating on a project.

And now Gaston-Poole and other Bartow Community Club regulars are looking for other like-minded folks of all ages who are looking for a place and community to help revive its theater program.

“We are calling the theater guild The Schoolhouse Players Curtain Call Collective,” she said. “We took a hit with COVID. People kid of fell away, things were put on hold and then a lot of people didn’t come back.”

While they have put on one or two plays, Gaston-Poole said that now they looking for new members to join and help plan and execute a revitalization of the local theater program.

“We’re looking for visionaries and artists, people interested in being on stage, but people who are interested in helping in other ways too,” she said. “We need more of a director pool, so we can have more than just one or two people trying to direct a full season. That will give it more flavor and variety.”

They are also looking for artists, painters, writers, photographers, carpenters, people with experience or just desire to learn more about sound boards and lighting.

"The theater is set up with a good sound system and lighting, we just need someone to come play with it,” Gaston-Poole said. “So many different types of people can be involved in the theater. We might have different gifts, leadership or an artistic eyes or maybe you’re a creative writer or have interests in directing. They all still have this commonality. It feels so good to be with people who enjoy the same things, and it doesn’t matter if you’re on stage or not. It’s so freeing just to be yourself.”

She said that she is working with the drama clubs in the area school system. For 33 years leading up to the pandemic the Bartow theater program hosted talent from Jefferson, Washington, Emanuel, Burke counties and as far away as Augusta. And audience members came from across the state. She hopes that it can do all of that again.

They are looking for people with experience as well as those without any, individuals interested in learning more about the different aspects of community theater.

“We need people to build sets and run the sound and learn lines and play music,” she said. “And people to take on whatever size role they are comfortable with.”

They also need people to help plan what plays to bring to the theater, what types of shows the community is looking for.

“We know people in small southern towns love a good southern play. We’re not going to take that away, but it would be nice to have other voices represented and maybe even do some plays for teenagers,” Gaston-Poole said.

At its height, the theater was running four shows a year as well as supporting and attracting other traveling performances.

Current plans are to stage a youth production of Disney Junior’s The Little Mermaid this Fall.

“It will be open to littles as well as teenagers,” Gaston-Poole said. “It is an hour long play with a lot of music and should be a lot of fun. We need help planning the rest of the season. It’s still up in the air. We really just want to create a community of people interested in the arts in a number of different facets. This is a place for them to connect and pool their talents and resources.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the guild is encouraged to reach out to The Schoolhouse Players on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Bartow theater guild looking to build creative, like-minded community