Families discover the fun of acting

With busy lifestyles, families are discovering it increasingly difficult to plan activities they can do together, at least those that don’t involve sports.

Acting in a community play is providing such an activity for several Hartsville families, and although the commitment of two or three nights of rehearsals a week is challenging for their already hectic schedules, they think the time is well spent.

Dentist Craig Gainey, his wife, Elizabeth, and four children, are all in the Hartsville Community Players’ production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” opening Friday night at the Center Theater.

Dr. Gainey, who plays the Rev. Hopkins, said this is the first play he has been in since he was in school.

“I only have five lines,” he said.

His wife is stage manager with the production, and their four children, Kaitlyn, 15, Adam, 11, Mary Alice, 8, and Gabe, 5, have parts in the play. Mrs. Gainey said she has two off-stage lines in the play.

Two of their children performed in “Music Man Jr.,” another production put on by the Community Players, and the children have been in plays and musicals at St. Luke UMC.

Gainey said the rehearsal schedule, along with balancing everything else, is a challenge.

“I’d much rather sit back and watch everyone else,” he admitted.

But the Gaineys agree that they have bonded as a family during the rehearsals leading up to Friday’s production.
“They (the children) have enjoyed it, and we wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Mrs. Gainey said.

Andrea Powell, who plays Mrs. Clausing, and her three children, Jenny, 6, Joey, 9, and Jack, 12, are also in the play.
Powell said this is their first play with the Community Players. Powell first heard about the play from director Kendra Woods, who also attends St. Luke where Powell is a member.

“She was telling me about the play,” Powell said.

And then she read a notice in the newspaper about auditions and decided it sounded interesting. She and the children came to the auditions, and all of them got a part.

“It has been so much fun,” Powell said. “We’ve inherited a new family.”

The only other acting experience for the Powells has been in the church choir and church plays at St. Luke.

Little Jenny said the best part of being in the play is that she gets to be an angel.

Joey said he joined in because the rest of his family was participating.

Jack is taking a drama class at the middle school and is working on his Boy Scout merit badge on a theater project.
Powell said it also helps a shy child to become more active and involved.

Audrey Childers was a child actor with the Hartsville Community Players and wanted her two daughters, Emily and Sarah, to experience the same thrill she had acting in a play.

In the sixth grade, Childers said she had the role of Mombi the Witch in the “Land of Oz.”

“I still remember my lines,” Childers said. “I had so much fun doing it that I wanted my kids to have the same experience.”
This is Childers’ first role as an adult.

“It is a lot harder to get on stage as an adult,” Childers said. “I was fearless back then. It is a lot harder to remember my lines now. While I am rehearsing if I forget my lines, the little angels cue me.”

Childers said her daughters know her lines, and they quiz her when they are together.

“Usually its at the most inopportune moments like in the grocery store,” she said.

Emily has been in several plays.

She said, “I like being on stage and knowing there are a lot of eyes on you.”

Emily said her mother auditions hoping to get a small part in the play, and she has the female adult lead. She is Grace Bradley in the play.

“We wanted to do something together,” Emily said.

Emily, 11, is the narrator of the play within the play.

“It has been a challenge to fit everything in,” Childers said.

Her youngest daughter, Sarah, 6, said she is enjoying the singing the best and being an angel.

“I twist and turn around,” she said.

Sarah, who is acting with the Community Players for the first time, has been in church productions. “I wanted Dad to be in it, but he was too scared to be in it,” she said.

“It has been so much fun working with my children and spending time with them and knowing the other kids,” Childers said.

Childers said the children work really hard on learning their lines and being dedicated to rehearsals. She said the children do their homework, go to rehearsals for two hours and then come home and do more homework.

The families say it is a difficult schedule during rehearsals, but the reward on opening night when all goes well will be worth it.

This play features 30 children.

Others cast members are Jim Gruber, Nicole Hyman, Raleigh Smith, Ray Schnell, Gage Chavis, Emily Hayes, Macey Gillir, Daryl Waggoner, Angela Fox, Magan Usher, Carole Holloway, Avery Hutton and Ray Schnell, Kristina Morris, Maya Tucker, Lyndie Fox, Kristen Gandy, Anisha Green, Cheyenne Chavis, Thomazina Jacobs, Alexes Avella, Abby Schnell, Alexanderia Moore, Breona Jackson, Savannah Tew, Alexandria Tucker and Bradley Gandy.

Assistant director is Magan Usher. Joe Moree

is in charge of lights, sound and set. Elizabeth Gainey and Andrea Powell are in charge of costumes.
Woods said it has been awesome working with all of these children.

“I have no complaints,” she said. “If it weren’t for all the help, it wouldn’t have been so easy. My goal was to make it a good experience for the children,” said Woods, a veteran performer with the Community Players, former board member and director. This is Woods’ third time directing a play; however, she has directed four dinner theater performances.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is about Grace and Bob Bradley who want to put on their annual church Christmas pageant, despite having to cast the horrible Herdman kids. The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world, and no one is prepared when this outlaw family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant.

The play is Dec. 5 and 6, at 7 p.m. in the Center Theater.

Ticket are $10 for adults, $ 8 for seniors and $5 for students. Tickets are available at the Hartsville and Darlington chambers of commerce, Burry Bookstore and on the Players’ Web site through PayPal at www.hartsvillecommunityplayers.org.