Out and About
Story of the Stage
The most captivating element of outdoor dramas in North Carolina isn’t the plot. For the youth that flock from all regions of the state and the southeastern United States, it’s the family they find that fires up production and produces life long interest in theater.
Photo courtesy of Horn in the West
With most of North Carolina’s eleven dramas operating between mid-May and late August, production is intense and often brutally time consuming. Between rehearsals, costuming and an average of six production nights each week, cast and crew sometimes see each other more than they see their own families. Many say the drama is like a family experience, and that’s one reason they keep coming back year after year.
The bonds between cast and crew make the daily work of putting on a show more bearable, but youngsters that get their feet wet in North Carolina productions find that family ties do much more. The close-knit family allows younger cast members to be mentored, diversifying their skill sets and providing them with a large professional network. The family atmosphere doesn’t just benefit the cast, though—the audience gets a better bang for their buck.
The Lost Colony
The first symphonic drama in the United States and a summer ritual among locals of the Outer Banks, The Lost Colony celebrates their 70 th anniversary this year. Since opening season in 1937, many locals have joined the ranks of the production, playing every role from colony children to European colonists and legendary Native Americans.
Touting a long list of successful citizens who got their start as young protégés, The Lost Colony has been home to colonist-child-now-Senator, Marc Basnight (Dem., N.C.), Mayberry favorite Andy Griffith, Deadwood actor Leon Rippy, Saturday Night Live’s Chris Elliott, As the World Turns actress Eileen Fulton and televion/movie actor R.G. Armstrong, just to name a few. Broadway costume designer and North Carolina native, William Ivey Long, spent summers at the Waterside Theatre, his father serving in various roles for the production. His first costume design, an Elizabethan ruff for his dog, came at the age of six.
The Lost Colony is able to produce successful faces year after year because of the production’s success to community support and the “family” network that has been a model for other North Carolina dramas.
“Imagine having to report to the theatre every night except Sunday from June 1 to August 20,” explained John Buford, Marketing Director of The Lost Colony. “That’s a huge commitment for our young cast members, and an equal commitment from their families, as well.”
The time-intensive rehearsals and shows are proof of the community’s commitment to the drama. The Lost Colony encourages locals to come out and participate in the drama—whether to sit as an audience member or be a part of the production.
“Legend goes that Paul Green, the playwright of The Lost Colony, drew inspiration from the local residents of Roanoke Island when he breathed life into the historical characters that are portrayed through The Lost Colony,” said Buford. “Manteo has been intertwined in the very fabric of the drama. Locals appeared in the play, grew up backstage and under the stage lights of the show.”
Unspoken in many ways, the bonds developed during summers of production keep bringing Lost Colony alumni back to the Waterside Theatre to take an interest another summer’s work.
Each year, alumni flock back to Roanoke for a get-together called the Alumni Crab Carnage, a picnic of fresh seafood that celebrates alumni from past productions. A group of alumni from the 1980s organizes the event, sending out invitations to alumni all over the nation.
A young alumna of the production, Carolina Davis, 20, is now in her third season at The Lost Colony as an actor/technician.
Having started with the drama as a junior in high school, she had already seen The Lost Colony many times as a child. Encouraged to audition by her teacher, Davis continued to work with the production even after she graduated.
The family network of actors and technicians were encouragement when her father passed away last year during the production. She was worried that coming back for a third season would be difficult. “Because of the people here—my Lost Colony family—I actually feel stronger,” Davis explained. “We are around each other almost 24 hours a day. We have the same interests, dreams and we share a lot in common. We work as a team, a family.”
Horn in the West
In addition to the professional networking opportunities, younger cast members in North Carolina’s dramas access valuable mentorships, adding to their skill sets as performers.
Photo courtesy of Horn in the West.
With such a rich history in outdoor drama, and home to the Institute of Outdoor Drama at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, North Carolina is a training ground for actors.
Horn in the West, set in the highlands of North Carolina, is one prime production for youngsters to find their stage legs. Horn in the West, like many of North Carolina’s dramas, holds auditions through the Institute of Outdoor Drama. Getting their first experience with a real production, many of the young actors are theater majors in college who decide to spend a summer interning on stage.
“A lot of these people are away from home for the first time,” said Virginia Roseman, spokesperson for Horn in the West. “We have people from South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. This is their first taste of independence in the real world, and it’s great to know you can leave home and also make a new home. The friendships give them the confidence to take the next step.”
That’s exactly what Gatlin Alldridge, 20, did. Originally from Alabama, Alldridge decided to come to Horn in the West as a dance intern one summer during his training from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Now working as the Medicine Man in the show, he enjoys his role. “I get to dance and spin fire and all kinds of stuff,” he said with a chuckle.
“Horn in the West gave me a call back and it turned into something that I could go into and learn,” Alldridge explained. “It was having something solid to build from, and after being at Horn in the West, my resume basically exploded. It was a boost of confidence for me to be able to say ‘I can do this now.’ Last year was a big learning situation for me.”
After his first year at Horn in the West, Alldridge could see a notable difference in his acting abilities. “I’m more open to being in front of an audience,” he said. “I lost my stage fright.”
Alldridge’s teachers saw a change—they felt he was more open to being trained and that they could give him new skills for acting. Now in his second season, he’s taken a leadership role as Dance Captain. He feels that Horn in the West contributes to the experiences of their cast.
“We want to have a wonderful production, and we understand that we have the skills and the ability to teach people and bring out their best skills,” said Alldridge.
Josh Howard, 31, is another young adult that benefited from his experience with Horn in the West. Having come to the production as a chorus member, Howard decided to stay in North Carolina after meeting his wife at Horn in the West in 2004. Now a music teacher for Allegheny County Schools, he says his skills have improved with production experience.
“My acapella singing has improved and especially singing in small choral groups,” Howard said. “I’m a much more sensitive performer than I used to be. I’ve definitely learned the difference between singing indoors and outdoors and the acoustic properties of each.”
The experience has also taught Howard how to cope with stress. “It’s helped me to think about the music skills I use every day in a stressful and hurried situation,” said Howard. “The production teaches you to cope with stress since it’s so intense and there are so many deadlines. There are always people that are hard to work with or deadlines that are hard to accomplish. A production like this gives young people a chance to learn to work on their feet.”
Unto These Hills
The close connections and intense working environment are great building blocks for interns and actors that are young in their production experience, but the overall pay off is the audience experience.
Each year there are minute kinks to work out in production—costuming, lighting, staging and sometimes even the script. But after the first few weeks of production, the cast and crew work as though part of a well-oiled machine. Technical aspects become fluid and actors can work on the nuances of emotionalism that make each of these dramas riveting.
Now in its 58 th season, Unto These Hills, located in Cherokee, is perhaps the most authentic audience experience offered this summer. “It’s extremely personal for the people here just because it’s about the 13,000 Cherokee that are still here,” explained John Tissue, executive director of the Cherokee Historical Association.
Unto These Hills has made major changes in the past two years of production, including a new script, new director, new set design, new choreography, new costuming, new score and new cast members. The changes reflect the Historical Association’s goal of making a more accurate, culturally authentic production for residents and visitors.
By increasing the number of locals playing roles in the production, the Historical Association ensures that residents stay connected with their history while visitors to the area have an opportunity to learn through a more authentic experience.
With recent changes, the production’s goal is to translate the energy to the audience. “We’re right here at the beginning of the excitement and energy and newness of what we’re doing. We have new pages every couple of nights and the energy level is high,” explained Tissue. “It translates to the audience in that way. They are seeing a high energy show right now. The time we spend in rehearsal with each other allows you to know people better and anticipate what your fellow partners will be doing on stage. That creates energy.”
Younger cast members and their working relationships with older staff add excitement to the production. “You need to have people that can take a fresh look at what they do,” said Tissue.
Additionally, mentoring that happens among cast and crew helps Unto These Hills reach new audiences. The stage dynamics allow cast members to relate historical concepts in a fun, exciting way. “We’re sneaking in the history without them getting blown over by it,” Tissue said. “It’s different than a museum—it’s dramatic, it’s exciting, it’s fun. Our audience is primarily made up of people that want to be immersed into the culture, and this is an exciting and interesting way for them to do it.”
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