Peacock Performing Arts Center

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Peacock Performing Arts Center
Peacock Playhouse
The Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville, North Carolina.jpg
Peacock Performing Arts Center
Address301 Church Street
Hayesville, North Carolina
Coordinates 35°02′55″N83°49′09″W / 35.048531°N 83.819171°W / 35.048531; -83.819171
OperatorLillith Lidseen Performing Arts Assocation
Capacity 250
Opened6 June 1986;38 years ago (1986-06-06)
Website
http://www.thepeacocknc.org

The Peacock Performing Arts Center, also known as the Peacock Playhouse, is a four-story, 250-seat theatre in Hayesville, North Carolina. When it was built in the 1980s, it was the only community theatre in far-west North Carolina and was unique as a professional-style theatre in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains and one of the poorest counties in the state. [1] [2]

History

The theatre was built by Lillith Lidseen, who moved to Clay County after her brother Edwin established a pipe manufacturing business in Warne. [3] Lidseen was born in Sweden in 1904, moved with her parents to Chicago, studied fine arts at Wellesley College, acted on stage in Chicago, and taught drama at Hollins College. [4] [5] She moved to Tusquittee, North Carolina, in the 1950s. [6] Lidseen was then asked to direct Brigadoon and Annie Get Your Gun by nonprofit volunteer theatre troupe the Licklog Players (named after the local Licklog Creek). The troupe had performed shows on the cramped stage of Hayesville High School's auditorium since 1978. Seeing the community's love of theatre, in 1979 Lidseen vowed to construct a professional venue in the town of about 400 people. [7]

Blueprints for the playhouse were drafted in March 1981 and construction on the $750,000 project began on Church Street in downtown Hayesville. However, construction was halted in 1982 after the IRS audited the Lidseen Foundation. The nearly-complete building sat idle for years, attracting vandals. By the time auditors gave a green light, Lidseen's health had declined. In spring 1986, the community pitched in with financial support and labor to see the playhouse open and the Licklog Players brought the building up to code. [6] [2]

The theatre's first show was The Curious Savage by the Licklog Players on June 6, 1986. The play, about an old wealthy woman who gave away money to folks with crazy dreams, was dedicated to Lidseen. Lidseen was seriously ill at the time of the theatre's opening and died in January 1987 before she was able to see a production there. [6] Her ghost is said to haunt the theatre. [8] At its opening the theatre was described by the Asheville Citizen-Times as the "fanciest community theater west of Asheville" with a "21st century design" and a "first-rate stage." [2] Lidseen raised peafowl on her property and the building was named after her favorite animal. The seats were upholstered in peacock blue and feathers adorn the interior. [9] [6] [10]

The Licklog Players staged around eight plays each season at the theatre. A dance studio and costume shop occupied the top floor. A weeklong summer youth theatre camp, Peacock Pride, operated by the 1990s. By 2007, the building was threatened by debt and deterioration. The Lilith Lidseen Performing Arts Association was founded in 2007 and raised $800,000 to buy the building in 2009 and renovate it. [11] After performing more than 100 plays at the venue, the Licklog Players moved to a strip mall and closed down following their 2014 season. The LLPAA diversified the range of content staged at the venue, adding concerts, dance classes, and writer events year-round in addition to staging three plays, a musical, and kids camps each season. [12] The LLPAA began selling concessions and alcohol at the theatre for the first time. [13] The venue remains the only purpose-built community theatre in the region west of Franklin, North Carolina. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Melissa C. (August 1, 2011). "The Little Theatre That Could". WNC Magazine. North Carolina: Gulfstream Communications.
  2. 1 2 3 Kiss, Tony (1987-06-19). "Peacock Playhouse a Place Theater Folks Dream About". The Asheville Citizen. p. 29. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  3. ↑ Moore, Carl S. (2008). Clay County, N.C.: Then and Now. Franklin, N.C.: Genealogy Publishing Service. ISBN   978-1881851240.
  4. ↑ "N. U. playshop to give "Third Vest Button". Chicago Tribune . 1931-02-08. p. 85. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  5. ↑ "Hollins College Is Preparing To Open 1926-27 Session". The Roanoke World-News. 1926-08-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Scott, Bob (1986-06-13). "Dream Theater Comes of Age". Asheville Citizen-Times . p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  7. ↑ "Theater Woman's Dream Come True". Hickory Daily Record . 1986-06-14. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  8. ↑ Sposto, Caroline (June 20, 2021). "Learn More About the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville". Broadway World. Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Hayesville Gem: The Peacock Performing Arts Center". Advantage Chatuge Realty. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  10. ↑ Kiss, Tony (1986-06-07). "A Company Without a Curtain". Asheville Citizen-Times . p. 20. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  11. ↑ "Playhouse gets some help from nonprofit". Asheville Citizen-Times . 2007-12-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  12. ↑ "About Us". Peacock Performing Arts Center. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  13. ↑ Andrews, Rick (2024-04-21). "Sean Rice: Peacock Playhouse Operations Manager". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
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