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Revamped Theaters Plan Packed Summer: More Plays, Classes Scheduled This Year

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Kelly Marshall Fuller, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jun. 14--The summer doldrums, a side effect of down time in community theater, won't hit the Grand Strand this summer.

The sound of children's laughter, jazz tunes and music from the 1940s will come from historic brick structures on Main Street in Conway and Front Street in Georgetown.

The Theatre of the Republic, which produces shows in the Main Street Theatre, is in full swing with plans for at least four productions this summer, said theater director Tim McGhee.

The Strand Theater, an art deco-style building now owned by the Swamp Fox Players, is offering children's acting classes and a free performance by the Langley Winds, a woodwind quartet from the U.S. Air Force.

Both theaters are working to draw in more people and involve the community in a wide range of shows from July through September, a time when theaters normally produce one or two shows.

"Normally, we do one show a year in July," McGhee said. "This year, we're trying to do a variety of everything."

Renovations complete

Both theaters have returned to their former glory, after being left empty for years.

The Strand Theater has a refurbished green room, backstage storage area, dressing room and a small workshop.

The Strand opened in 1941 and closed in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, the Swamp Fox Players purchased the crumbling building when pigeons roosted there and parts of the floor were dirt.

The Theatre of the Republic purchased the Holliday Theatre in Conway and renamed the structure the Main Street Theatre.

Built as a movie house in the 1940s, the Holliday Theater closed in 1986. The empty theater burned in the late 1980s. The city then sold the building to the Theatre of the Republic.

After years of fundraising and more than $1 million in construction, Main Street Theatre opened for its first show in October 1999.

The Holliday Theater had some standing walls, the lobby and the original marquee, McGhee said. The theater has expanded the number of shows produced per year.

"We have something planned all summer," McGhee said. "This is all we can fit in timewise. We have packed in one show on top of a another show. We're going to try it this year to see what happens with it."

This summer also will be a busy time at the Strand Theatre in Georgetown, said Theater Manager Fay Ford.

The children's summer classes have taken place at the historic building for three years. The Little Foxes Workshop includes about 14 children, who will learn improvisation and basic stage techniques.

"We are staying busy all year round," Ford said. "There was a time when we did have just the four plays per year, but we're getting busier every year."

Shannon Lewis, a teacher at Low Country Day School in Pawleys Island, will run the workshop. "It's lots of fun," she said. "It's very physical. The children are given scenarios and they have to make things work. ... The theater is trying to build youth participation and the camp is part of it."

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If you go

Main Street Theatre, Conway

What | "Dearly Beloved," a story of sisters who throw a wedding that turns into a fiasco.

When | Thursday-Sunday, June 22-25, June 29-30, July 1-2.

What | "Stars & Stripes Celebration"

When | July 19-23, July 25-30.

What | "Oliver"

When | Audition dates are 7 p.m. July 16-17. Show dates are Aug. 29-31 and Sept. 1-10.

For tickets, call the Main Street Theatre at 488-0821 Monday through Friday.

Strand Theater, Georgetown

What | The U.S. Air Force Langley Winds, woodwind quintet

When | 6:30 p.m. Friday

What | "The Sunshine Boys"

When | July 13-23

Call the Strand Theater at 527-2924.

Sources: The Strand Theatre, The Theatre of the Republic

Contact KELLY MARSHALL FULLER at 357-9187 or kfuller@thesunnews.com [mailto:kfuller@thesunnews.com].

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

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