Theater arts a growing opportunity at Butler Art Center
Courtney McNamara wanted the Butler Art Center to further embody its name by introducing performance art to the venue, and its first foray into theater last week proved successful.
McNamara is a teacher at the art center and produced the center’s first play, “Let Him Sleep ‘Til It's Time for His Funeral,“ which premiered Friday, Oct. 13. The production has two shows left at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, and after the play sold out in its debut show, McNamara said she is optimistic about the coming performances.
“I want to bring in all the arts to the art center … It's my goal to do it,” McNamara said.
The play, according to its director, Toni Schlemmer, is an intimate comedy of errors. There are six cast members, all volunteers from outside Butler County, and only a few crew members putting the show together.
Schlemmer described the play as “one of those silly little comedies with mistaken impressions,” and it is family-friendly. She also said it is a good opportunity to not only experience an uncommon play at the art center, but also escape reality for its run time.
“It’s a Lucy and Ethel kind of comedy; wackiness ensues,” Schlemmer said. “There is so much in our world right now that is heavy and depressing and serious; it's nice to get away with some silliness and comedy.”
Schlemmer said the crew set up a small stage decorated with some furniture to make it look like a 1950s living room. The actors are mostly bringing their own costume attire, and many other people chipped in props and lights.
“This has really been a collaborative effort. Everybody brought something to the table,” Schlemmer said. “Everybody in it has community theater experience; we all started in community theater.”
The crew also brought in about 75 chairs, so each show has about 75 tickets available. In addition to the stage setup, Schlemmer said the space is an interesting venue to plan and watch a play in.
“They have walls set up to display their artwork, so there are random walls in the room,” she said. “We had to work around display space; some are ‘L’ shaped, some are ‘V.’ We tried to find the space where we could fit the most space in the room.”
McNamara said the success of this play could lead to more theater productions at the art center in the future, so she hopes people enjoy the eccentricities of the venue.
“We wanted to do something family friendly that the whole community could be a part of and enjoy,” McNamara said.
For more information, or to buy tickets for the play, visit butlerartcenterandgallery.org/Theatre. Money generated from the show all goes back to the Associated Artists of Butler County nonprofit, McNamara said.
