Community theater comes to Alberton
<p>Briar Rose choreographer and author of the script Anne Brummer, left, works with Kristina Solinger who plays the lead role. </p>
ALBERTON – Residents of Alberton will be witness to the thespian talents of their neighbors this weekend thanks to a local organization devoted to providing activities and events for area youth.
The organization known as PEAK (Promoting Excellence of Alberton-area Kids) conducted a survey to ask the community what type of activities they wanted to see them promote. Alberton responded with a variety of priorities and one of them was community theater for all ages.
PEAK chairperson Laura Acker said the production of “Briar Rose,” an original musical comedy based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, was an opportunity for kids and adults to come together to provide safe and constructive activities.
“The kids especially wanted more art opportunities,” Acker said. “I think this is going to grow. We really want to get this going here because the kids really haven’t been exposed to this. These big events are what we want to see happen. We are hoping to have something like this every year.”
Author of Briar Rose and production choreographer, Anne Brummer, said the turnout for the auditions impressed her. For a town with only a few hundred residents, Brummer said the dozens of people who tried out for a part demonstrated the desire in the community for theater.
“We had 39 people audition,” Brummer said. “That’s like ten percent of the town which is amazing. This is a win-win for both the town and those of us that have been trying to get this play off the ground. This is just the first step to making community theater happen in Alberton year after year.”
Acker said the production of Briar Rose would be breaking new ground in Mineral County. She said, while there are other theater productions in the area like Shakespeare in the Park, the effort in Alberton is the first production in the area utilizing solely local talent.
“People want more access to arts,” Acker said. “This is the first community theater production in Mineral County. There are Shakespeare events and children’s theater but this is the first combining adults and kids. It’s pretty exciting.”
Composer of the music for Briar Rose, Bradford Hagen, said community theater was especially important for towns of Alberton’s size because often creative outlets are hard to find and support. Hagen said there were many positive aspects to promoting the dramatic arts.
“There are a lot of benefits to something like this,” Hagen said. “One thing we have noticed is all the friendships that develop and you create a more cohesive community. It’s a real community building activity and it brings with it a lot of pride. There are already so many people involved with this locally.”
Hagen said theater can also make communities that may already be tight-knit even stronger. He said the response from area residents has impressed him.
“There has been so much involvement already,” Hagen said. “There have been services and materials donated. Everyone is bringing something into the project. The community has really come together for this project. Alberton has a very strong sense of community and this is making that even stronger.”
Performances of Briar Rose will take place on Friday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. and the following Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in the elementary school cafeteria.