Greenwood Community Theatre

Last updated
Greenwood Community Theatre
Formation1954
TypeTheatre group
PurposeMusical Theater, Drama, Theatre, Children's Theatre
Location
Website www.greenwoodcommunitytheatre.com

Greenwood Community Theatre, or GCT, is a non-profit theatre in Greenwood, South Carolina. Greenwood Community Theatre officially began in 1954.

Contents

GCT reopened in January 2007 after an extensive 1.2 million dollar renovation offering live theatre in the form of musicals, comedies, dramas, classic films, Indie films, music concerts, forum, debates and many rentals to local and touring organizations and businesses.

History

Support for renovations came with the city’s decision in the early 2000s to anchor its downtown revival with historic properties.

After being closed for 18 months to remodel, the theatre re-opened in February 2007 for the production Anything Goes . Renovations preserved the original terrazzo tile floor in the lobby. Improvements included seating capacity for nearly 300, better access for wheelchairs, new riggings, curtains, the addition of a catwalk, and an upgraded sound and lighting system. [1]

Currently

GCT currently offers a 5-7 show season featuring local performers in shows ranging from classic musicals to contemporary straight plays, kids musicals and more. Most recent previous seasons at GCT have included: The Hallelujah Girls, Elf, The Boys Next Door, The Great Gatsby, Cinderella, Frozen Jr., The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Matilda Jr., Guys and Dolls, The Jungle Book KIDS, Little Shop of Horrors, and Junie B. Jones Jingle Bells Batman Smells.

Musicians and comedians that have appeared on GCT's stage

Edwin McCain, James Gregory, The Jake Bartley Band, The Swingin' Medallions, The Bad Weather States, Keith Jameson, Nat Chandler, Pam Stone, and many more.

GCT's 2025 season

Bright Star (February), Moana Jr. (April), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (June), Hairspray (October-November), and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (December).

Along with its own in-house productions, GCT also hosts The Greenwood Performing Arts (GPA) with their 5–6 show season of musical acts from around the world.

GCT also hosts several local events, including Cambridge Academy's Drama Program Musical, Make-A-Wish Concert, Emerald City Dance Explosion's Christmas Recital, Ashby Stokes Annual Christmas Concert, and many other comedy, concert or dance events.

In September of 2017, GCT produced Annie Jr. as a 'Penguin Project' Production. The Penguin Project is a fully realized and produced show starring differently-abled kids and teenager 'artists' paired with a supporting 'mentor'. The following September, GCT produced its second Penguin Project Production, with Aladdin Jr. This September, GCT will produce 101 Dalmatians KIDS.

In May of 2024, GCT collaborated with Greenwood High School to perform Newsies and Ryan Hewitt, GCT's artistic director, served as their director.

Staff

For the 6-show season, GCT employs different production members to help create the world of each show. Hewitt fills in specific roles for each production as choreographer, sometimes as director, costume, or prop designer.

Ryan Hewitt is also the resident Penguin Project coordinator and director.

Facility

The theatre auditorium is a 300-seat proscenium-style house. The seating area is raked from back to front, allowing patrons a full view of the stage from any seat in house. The stage floor is raised above the audience floor. The facility upgrades from 2007 gave the theatre a digital sound console, wireless mics capabilities, an enclosed orchestra pit with a removable top, updated lighting inventory, and many more technological upgrades.

Greenwood Children's Theatre

Greenwood Children's Theatre is a program offered by Greenwood Community Theatre that includes children's plays and musicals, workshops, and summer camps. [1]

Summer Camps

GCT offers many summer camps every year. These summer camps last one week M-F, some full and some half-day.

This year, the summer camps will be Seussical KIDS , and Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs before Dark KIDS.

Past Seasons

2024 Season

2023 Season

2022 Season

2021 Season

2020 Season

2019 Season

2018 Season

2017 Season

2016 Season

2015 Season

2013-2014 Season

2012-2013 Season

2011-2012 Season

2010-2011 Season

2009-2010 Season

2008-2009 Season

2007-2008 Season

2007 Season

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratford Festival</span> Theatre festival in Ontario, Canada

The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, the Shakespeare Festival and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. The festival was one of the first arts festivals in Canada and continues to be one of its most prominent. It is recognized worldwide for its productions of Shakespearean plays.

<i>Seussical</i> Musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty

Seussical, sometimes Seussical the Musical, is a musical comedy with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, and book by Ahrens and Flaherty. based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on Horton Hears a Who!, Gertrude McFuzz, and Horton Hatches the Egg while incorporating many other stories. The musical's name is a portmanteau of "Seuss" and the word "musical". Following its Broadway debut in 2000, the show was widely panned by critics, and closed in 2001 with huge financial losses. It has spawned two US national tours and a West End production, and has become a frequent production for schools and regional theaters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noël Coward Theatre</span> Theatre in London

The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by the architect W. G. R. Sprague with an exterior in the classical style and an interior in the Rococo style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Greene</span> American actress and singer

Ellen Greene is an American actress and singer. She has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actress and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films and television series. Her best-known roles are as Audrey in the original stage play and film adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors, and as Vivian Charles in the ABC series Pushing Daisies.

Town Hall Theatre is a children’s theater group located in Centerville, Ohio. It operates and performs in Washington Township Hall and is part of the recreation department of Washington Township, Montgomery County, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tor Hyams</span> American songwriter and record producer (born 1969)

Tor Hyams is an American songwriter and record producer.

David Allen Friedman is a film and theatre composer, songwriter, author, lyricist and conductor based in New York City. He received a 1997 Backstage Bistro Award for Composer of the Year and a 1997 Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriter of the Year, and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Annual MAC Awards. His oratorio, King Island Christmas, won a Frederick Loewe Award and Dramatists Guild Award. David's musical Desperate Measures won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Best Music and Best Lyrics as well as the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical.

Caitlynne Medrek is an international, award winning Canadian actress. She spent the first half of her career living and working in professional theatre around Canada, but has since set her sights on creating a cinematic career by performing in Film and Television. A Canadian College of Performing Arts alumna, Medrek is a true triple threat. She is best known for her roles in Heartland as Ms. Clarissa, Fargo, Season 3 as Grace Stussy, and Claire in the award-winning series, Out with Dad. She has had an incredible voice acting career with notable roles like Dawn in Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, Mikoto in My-HiME, Miu Matsuoka in Strawberry Marshmallow, and Pan in Dragon Ball GT. Her latest mainstream voice work include: The Haunted House: The Secret of the Ghost Ball (Netflix), Kongsuni (Netflix), Cardfight!! Vanguard, Arthur, and Gintama. She can be seen in the final season of Hell on Wheels, Season 2 of Wynonna Earp, Season 3 of Fargo as Grace Stussy, Season 3 of The Detour and recently, Seasons 15 and 16 of Heartland, Season 2 of Tribal and Season 2 of Yellowjackets. Caitlynne is also in production for two Feature Films set for 2023 release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Knowles</span> American actor

Ryan Knowles is an American actor, singer, comedian, writer, television host, speech coach and motivational speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carousel Theatre</span> Professional theatre company for young audiences in Canada

Carousel Theatre is a professional theatre company for young audiences located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company stages plays for young people, families and educators at the Waterfront Theatre and Performance Works on Granville Island and tours to elementary schools across British Columbia and Canada. It was also the first Canadian theatre company to offer signing during its performances for the hearing impaired. Carousel Theatre is a member of PACT, the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.

Katrina Bryan is a Scottish actress who has starred in Taggart, Nina and the Neurons, Molly and Mack'. She has been active since 1999. Bryan has a BA in Acting from Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University School of Drama. She appeared in an Irn-Bru advert where she names her newborn baby Fanny, much to the shock of the baby's father.

Selladoor Worldwide is a UK Theatre producing company based in Greenwich, London. Selladoor Worldwide produce musical theatre, plays and family theatre for UK and international touring and the West End. Selladoor Worldwide also operate and manage theatres across the UK, known as Selladoor Venues.

Stage School Australia is a performing arts training provider for young people based in Melbourne and Brisbane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arielle Jacobs</span> American actress and singer

Arielle Jacobs is an American singer and actress, mostly seen on stage in musicals. She is best known for her roles as Nina Rosario in the US Tour and Broadway productions of In the Heights and as Princess Jasmine in the Australian and Broadway productions of Aladdin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Savage bibliography</span>

American author Dan Savage has written six books, op-ed pieces in The New York Times, and an advice column on sexual issues in The Stranger. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Savage began contributing a column, Savage Love, to The Stranger from its inception in 1991. By 1998 his column had a readership of four million. He was Associate Editor at the newspaper from 1991 to 2001, when he became its editor-in-chief, later becoming its editorial director in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Mueller</span> American actress and singer

Jessica Ruth Mueller is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me. In 2011, she moved to New York City to star in a Broadway revival of musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She went on to receive two additional Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominations for her leading roles in Waitress (2016) and the Broadway revival of Carousel (2018).

The Hangar Theatre is a non-profit, regional theatre located at 801 Taughannock Boulevard in Ithaca, NY. Its mainstage season and children's shows occur during the summer, but the Hangar, and other organizations, utilize the space year-round for special events. The tenets of the Hangar's mission statement are to enrich, enlighten, educate and entertain.

<i>Aladdin</i> (2011 musical) Broadway musical

Aladdin is a stage musical based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1992 film of the same name, with a book by Chad Beguelin, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Beguelin. It resurrects three songs written by Menken and Ashman for the film but not used, and adds four songs written by Menken and Beguelin.

David Hutchinson is a British theatre producer and director. He is the founder and CEO of The Path Entertainment Group as well as the founder and CEO of Selladoor Worldwide, formerly Sell a Door Theatre Company Hutchinson attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts 2006 to 2009 and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Acting.

Kathryn Allison is a Broadway actor and singer. Allison won the New York Musical Theatre Festival's Next Big Broadway Sensation contest in 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 "Greenwood Community Theatre". emeraldtriangle.sc. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-11-02.

34°11′31″N82°9′40″W / 34.19194°N 82.16111°W / 34.19194; -82.16111