Just in time for the holidays, Aumsville Community Theatre has a new name, a new matinee, and a new venue.
ACT has now become Spotlight Community Theatre, a name that embodies what SCT stands for.
“We no longer live in Aumsville due to a lack of space,” said Shannon Rempel, president. “So we wanted to incorporate all the surrounding communities that we serve. We are putting the community in the spotlight regardless of the experience or the community they live in.”
SCT kicks off holiday offerings with its Christmas play, And The Snow Falls in its new venue, The Spotlight at 193 N. Third Ave. in historic downtown Stayton. The play will run for two weekends with eight performances Dec. 6-15 on Friday and Saturday nights, and Saturday and Sunday matinees.
“We’re still finishing the space, so consider this our ‘soft opening,’” said Linda Cashin, web designer and former board member. “Take advantage of our new Saturday matinee. We look forward to seeing you there!”
A musical adaptation by James Kemp, co-directed by Beverly Wilson, the play takes place in 1938 London. The web description details the busy lives of employees of a cosmetics shop “who are busy with pre-Christmas sales, but things are not going well. Someone may be fired. One male employee and one female employee each has a love interest in a penpal. The owner has hired a detective to follow the owner’s wife. Two other employees are dating. The old cashier is fed up with all of the other employees and with their affairs. The young bicycle delivery boy wants to be promoted to the sales staff. And then there are all those music boxes that nobody is buying.
Will the goodwill of the Christmas season prevail?”
Friday and Saturday nights, doors open 6:30 p.m., showtime is 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday afternoons, doors open at 1:30 p.m., curtain at 2 p.m.
General admission is $15, senior/students $12, and youth $8. Tickets are available at the door or at www.StaytonEvents.com.
Later in December, SCT will stage their live radio drama, It’s a Wonderful Life, about George Bailey, a husband and father and builiding and loan manager in despair and pondering jumping from a bridge. His guardian angel, Clarence, rescues George and shows him what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all his good deeds over the years.
On Dec. 20-22, doors open at 6:30 p.m. with showtime at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. doors open with showtime 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Dec. 21 show will be at The Brown House, 425 N. First Ave., Stayton. All other shows will be held at The Spotlight.
General admission is $10 with tickets available at the door or at www.StaytonEvents.com.
SCT provides live theater experiences for Stayton, Aumsville, Sublimity and the surrounding area. Actors and crew “work hard to support a community of creative people who love to participate in the joy of live theater – stage plays, murder mysteries and staged radio shows.” All ages are involved, with cast members ranging from 6 to 85 years old.
“In a time where the arts are struggling, we feel it’s important to continue to provide these much-needed services to our community,” Cashin said.
SCT is a nonprofit organization and memberships and/or donations are totally deductible.
For information, call 503-302-0936 or visit www.aumsvillecommunitytheatre.com or the SCT Facebook page.
