In May, I was cast in a play titled “Airport Encounters” written by Scott Mullen and staged by the Greenville Area Community Theatre, commonly known as “GACT” (pronounced G-ACT). Their “home” is at the William A. Robinson Theater on the campus of Thiel College in Greenville, PA. During the audition, and subsequent rehearsals and performances, I discovered many gems in this tightknit community that I would like to share with all of you.
Thiel College has quite a connection to my line dance career, since it was on that campus that I first line danced during a New Year’s “family fun night.” All those years ago, I never would have realized how many people and places I would encounter during my 30 years of teaching line dance. It was a full circle moment for me to be back on that campus!
Since I had never acted with GACT, when I walked into the audition, I felt like an “outsider.” I only knew one other person, a girl I had shared the stage with last June in Sharon. All the other actors were strangers to me. Luckily, not for long, as one of them, a girl named Liz, smiled, said hello, and briefly chatted with me. That evening, I filled out my audition paper and read three different scenes for the director. “Airport Encounters” consists of 12 unique vignettes about heartwarming and comedic scenarios in an airport waiting area.
A few days later, I was contacted with the news of the two roles that I was cast in; for the first act, I was an energetic airport employee excited to meet a man who recently reached 20 million airline miles. In the second act, I was a grumpy mother-in-law having a discussion with my daughter-in-law, who I didn’t like. That tense chemistry only happened during rehearsals and performances, as the girl who played opposite me was none other than Liz, who was so kind and welcoming at the audition! She is definitely one of the gems I met and we developed a bond.
One afternoon, when we didn’t have a scheduled rehearsal, I met with her to “run lines” for our scene. Liz works at Padrone’s Pizza and Pub on the Main Street in downtown Greenville. That place is another gem I discovered; I enjoyed a delicious lunch while chatting with Liz while she took care of all her responsibilities there. Since our scene went well, and I didn’t have other plans, I stayed to read lines for Liz’s other 2 scenes. I have to compliment Liz, as she never missed a beat between customers, taking phone orders, dealing with deliveries, and remembering her lines! Check out Padrone’s on Facebook and plan a trip there; you won’t be disappointed!
During the 2 months of rehearsals and 4 days of performances at this wonderful theater, I met new people and learned about this gem. Some members of this core group of actors, cleverly called “GACTors,” have been there since its 1980 inception. Bill Robinson was the director of GACT from 1987 to 2012; the theater named after him was opened in 2007. Check out their website: GACTors
Thanks to all the gems in Greenville who made my summer theater experience memorable!
Dori Yez will continue to write her monthly article here; and may also “guest instruct” at local venues/events!
