Since Our Town, presented at Green Hope High School in 2003, Cary Players Community Theatre Company has staged over 70 productions. With no staff members, an all-volunteer board, and auditions open to everyone, the Players have showcased the talent of more than 1,600 individual volunteers on stage or through the creation of scenery and costumes.
In Cary Arts Center’s 400-seat theater, Cary Players’ commitment to producing high-quality shows resounds. Seats are comfortable, sight lines are good, the stage looks great, and technical aspects — lighting, sound system, and fly tower — are first-rate.
The Players’ script includes more than 65,000 audience members enjoying shows at a reasonable price — and forthcoming acts promise the same.
So read on as Cary Players President Debra Grannan delivers the lines.
What is community theater and how do the Players contribute to Cary’s creative scene?
Community theater is just that: theater for the community. It’s an opportunity for people to participate on stage or behind the scenes and for audiences to enjoy local talent. When Cary native Dan Martschenko founded Cary Players over 20 years ago, his focus was to bring joy and high-quality entertainment to the people of Cary and the surrounding area by staging plays and offering acting workshops.
What hurdles have the Players experienced over the years?
For many years, our biggest challenge was securing a performance venue. Before the Cary Arts Center was renovated, we used the stage in the old Cary Elementary media center. Plastic chairs and the scent of mildew in the air made for a less-than-ideal experience for actors and audience members. We’ve performed at Sertoma Amphitheatre in Bond Park, a neat space for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Robin Hood, but many of our shows were rained out! The Page Walker Arts and History Center is a lovely space but has limited seating. We even staged a couple plays with simple sets in Cary’s Town Council Chambers!
Finally, the Cary Arts Center opened in 2013 — and we were thrilled! But while the CAC is an incredible facility, it’s in high demand with other cultural groups and with Town of Cary programming, so it can be a challenge to get the ideal dates for a full season. Then, with the popularity of downtown Cary, there’s always the challenge of finding parking nearby.
Cary Players President Debra Grannan, left, talks props backstage with Katie Bolanos during the April dress rehearsal of Brigadoon at the Cary Arts Center.
Please share some popular Players productions.
Our highest-attended show, which also earned very positive reviews, was Fiddler on the Roof. More than 2,400 people enjoyed this delightful musical. Agatha Christie plays are also well attended. Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story has remained a crowd-pleaser for years — even after being produced eight times! In addition to drawing large audiences, popular shows often have a big turnout from actors at auditions.
What is the typical process, from planning to performance?
Season planning starts more than a year in advance. The play’s title and director are often chosen at the same time because directors come to us with recommendations about shows they would like to stage. We do contract with professional directors and designers to help produce our shows, but we never pre-cast a show. That’s not to say a director won’t encourage certain people to audition if they are right for a role, but we want everyone to feel welcome.
Then we secure the rights from the publishing company and pay the royalty fees and reserve space at the CAC for both the shows and the auditions and rehearsals.
Auditions occur about two to three months before the show opens. Then, rehearsals run for five to six weeks for a play and six to eight weeks for a musical.
We rent a warehouse space near downtown Cary where we build the set. Then we disassemble it and reassemble it on the stage at the CAC just a few days before the show opens!
After all that hard work, the run time is only one or two weekends. (Wouldn’t it be great if Cary had another theater venue?) Then, after the final show, we disassemble the set, load up a moving van, and take the pieces back to our scene shop.
The lineup is eclectic — how are a season’s shows selected?
We reach out to the community via our website and social media for play submissions. A board subcommittee meets with various directors and reads the proposed scripts. We look for plays that are well written and entertaining and which offer opportunities for different ages and backgrounds. We also want directors with solid experience who have a clear vision for a script. Over the years, we’ve had 27 different directors, 15 of them women.
Rylee Davis, right, and Megan Birdsey rehearse dance steps backstage.
Most recently on stage was Brigadoon. Please tell us about the musical and the performers.
Brigadooon is a lovely romantic musical about a magical village that vanished in the Scottish Highlands mist and only appears every 100 years. In the lead roles, Adam Miller as Tommy and Rebecca Hodge as Fiona delighted the audience with their beautiful singing voices. Bonnie Webster, assisted by Tina Vance, directed the cast of 30 talented singers, actors, and dancers. Katherine Anderson was the music director.
What shows are coming up?
This fall, our ’24–’25 season will open with The Addams Family Musical. In December, we will present A Sherlock Carol. Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery around the holidays? The Trip to Bountiful is planned for February. A powerful drama, Sonia Flew, will wrap up the season in May.
Do the Players put on any special events?
Last year, Cary Players conducted a series of three free workshops. The first was on accessibility and inclusion — an awareness-building opportunity for producers and directors to learn how people with varying abilities can enjoy being active in theater. Next, we held a workshop called Beyond the Obvious, which offered a chance to learn how people of different ethnic backgrounds, ages, and genders can be considered for various roles. Finally, we produced a staged reading and talk-back session of a new work by a local playwright.
We will offer similar workshops this year, as well as classes on auditioning and stagecraft sponsored in part with a grant from the Cary Daze Festivals Committee.
How can the Cary community support the Players?
We are eager to welcome new participants. Whether you are interested in auditioning, would enjoy helping with carpentry and set building, sewing, painting, or just want to come and watch, we encourage you to get involved.
Please let your community leaders know that the arts are important to you! Thank the town for the support it has provided but encourage even more. Cary Players, along with many other performing arts groups, would benefit from a larger theater space with adequate parking! Funding — always a hurdle for arts organizations — for such a project requires strong community support.
Local businesses may also wish to sponsor a show or use one of our productions for an employee outing.
Anything else to share?
Coming to a show? Get to downtown Cary early and enjoy the new park or the great restaurants and pubs. You want to allow yourself plenty of time to park!
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