A thin curtain separates an expectant audience from prepared, and often nervous, actors. Adrenaline pumps through the bodies of the performers, while lines run through their heads. Microphones and makeup cling to their faces, as they prepare to show off what they’ve been preparing for months.
Theater is a fantastic art form, open to a wide variety of people of different ages and backgrounds. It gives the opportunity for a person to become someone else, even if it is just for a brief moment. Tuscarawas County is very fortunate to have numerous opportunities to be involved in theater, including high school productions, The Little Theater, The Amish Country Theater, The Performing Arts Center, Trumpet in the Land, and more!
High school is the beginning of many people’s love of theater. Andrew Mitchell, an accomplished member of the Drama Department at Garaway High School (Pictured Below), is a great example. Although he has only been a part of “Mainly high school productions ranging from plays to musicals”, he plans on incorporating theater into his future. Although Andrew does not plan on turning this love into a career, he thinks it would be very fun to participate in community and college productions in the future. High School is a great introduction to theater for students, but after graduation, where can they act?
Like I stated earlier, Tuscarawas County is very fortunate to have many opportunities for actors, young and old. The Little Theater of Tuscarawas County gives many opportunities, about six shows each year, as well as drama workshops for students looking to better their skills. Ellie Zumbach, a Senior at Garaway, had the opportunity to perform at the little theater in “The Crucible,” a classic play by Arthur Miller. She said, “ It was probably one of the most dramatic and dark productions I have ever been a part of” when asked about her performance there at the Little Theater, and said the performance helped her to grow as an actor.
Aside from Tuscarawas County’s opportunities to be in a production, people can also see professionally done shows, coming from time to time to the Kent State Tuscarawas Performing Arts Center. The Performing Arts Center, which was constructed in 2010, hosts numerous broadway shows. Some of the recent shows performed there include “Sister Act,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” and “Chicago.” These shows are great, and give people a great look at professionally done shows.
But of course, these productions would be nothing without an audience to present to. Tuscarawas county has a very supportive community, and the theaters are always full of people excited to see a good show. Without those people, the shows couldn’t go on. So go on, give acting a shot, Break a Leg!