Community Theatre Hires Executive Director

This past month, the Fayette County Community Theatre Board of Directors voted to create the position of Executive Director, and promote then Operations Manager Heather Barthelme into that role. Barthelme has served as Operations Manager since March of 2021, and in that time has facilitated the opening of the FCCT Box Office and Studio in downtown, instituted monthly Open Mic Night and Second Saturday educational workshop events, and pushed the organization to grow, expanding programming and community partnerships. “This year has been so amazing in so many ways,” Barthelme said. “It’s incredible to be a part of something that brings more art education into our community, entertains our local patrons and reaches out to other communities welcoming them in as well.” The non-profit organization, founded by Susannah Mikulin in 2017, has been all over the city of La Grange, using different venues to allow for a variety of theatre experiences. They pivoted in 2020 to move from the Historic Casino Hall where all plays to that point had been performed, to the Sanford Schmid Amphitheater on the grounds of the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center in order to offer distancing and an outdoor experience. This year, partnering with the La Grange Independent School District, the student production was held in the LGISD Performing Arts Center, and for the first time, the first weekend in November, they will perform in the Pavilion on the grounds of the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center, also known as the Round Up Hall.

“We’ve been all over La-Grange, but we are the Fayette County Community Theatre, and in 2023, we are making a promise to move into the rest of the county,” Barthelme said. “We want to send our traveling troupe, FAYCO PLAYCO, into assisted living facilities, libraries and other smaller venues with skits and workshops and small productions. We may even be able to travel a larger production to a venue in Round Top, Schulenburg, Flatonia, or any of the other parts of the county. We’ve been invited by the City of Columbus to perform at the Stafford Opera House in Columbus, so that is very exciting for us!”

FCCT continues to work to build partnerships with the community, participating in La Grange Main Street community activities such as Trick or Treat on the Square and Schmeckenfest, and being a part of the Fayette Public Library Summer Reading Program.

“Of course all the additional programming requires additional funding,” Barthelme continued. “Part of my new role is to expand our programming and find funding for it. I love the challenge, I love the work, I love this theatre, but most of all I love our theatre family and the smiles on the faces of those performing and participating in a production as well as those in the audience. It truly brings our community together in a way nothing else can,” she said. “And our volunteers and volunteer Board of Directors are what make it all possible. They have this same love and passion for what we do.”

With Barthelme moving into the Executive Director position, the theatre is looking for a Production Operations Manager to handle about 6-8 weeks of mostly marketing tasks during each of the three major productions in 2023. For information on that position, tickets to the upcoming performance of The Great Gatsby, or to donate to the non-profit organization, contact Heather Barthelme at (979) 702-9368.