Valleytown Cultural Arts Center prepares for new season
Andrews – The Community Youth Players/ACT2 of the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center were hard at work preparing for their production of Beauty and the Beast. This was back in March of 2020 just as COVID began creeping across the continents.
The virus, of course, required the center to close down before the players could perform. This crushed the actors, but at the time many felt the show would merely be delayed, not forgotten. They were young, after all, and performers holding to the creed “the show must go on.” But tick-tock into a few months that then lengthened in two years, and the center still remained closed.
It was a blow both emotionally and financially to the historic center players as a dark stage meant no revenues, which meant no money to run the programs. But theatre folk are plucky, and when it finally became safe to do so, they opened their doors with an ambitious murder mystery dinner theater Murder on the Menu. The Community Youth Players along with the ACT2 players – with origins all the way back to the 1970s – stood in the wings, waiting for the next show.
Their wait is over. The Valleytown Cultural Arts Center announced that they will hold open auditions from 6:30-8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 15-16. This season’s premier show, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, will run in October.
Longtime theater leader Lori Coffey is thrilled about the upcoming season.
“There will be opportunities for both children and adults to be involved,” she said. “We are always looking for actors, directors, music directors, set builders, backstage
crew, etc.”
Coffey got involved with the theater when her daughter wanted to perform a play for her senior project.
“After that, parents begged to have more opportunities for their children to perform,” she said.
Coffey, a determined woman, stayed on to make that happen. She became the artistic director in 2009. However, she isn’t working alone in her work to provide the community with arts and entertainment.
“Thanks to people like Nancy Brown, Dee Dooley, Melody Barton, Bo and Debbie Gray, the Community Youth Players continued into the 21st century,” Coffey said.
For details about auditioning, volunteering or donating, visit www.vcahs.com or check out the Facebook pages for the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center and Community Youth Players/ACT2.