Local Theater Traveling ‘Back To the 80s’ With Student Play
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Student director Hayden Splawn gives student actors directions during a recent rehearsal at the La Grange Performing Arts Center. Photo by MaKenzie Givan -
A script sits on a chair on the Performing Arts Center. -
“Back to the 80s” will be performed at the La Grange ISD Performing Arts Center located on the La Grange Elementary campus. Ticket prices are $15 for adult general admission, $10 for student general admission, and $20 for early seating. Tickets are available for purchase from FCCT’s Box Office located at 120 South Washington St. in La Grange or online at www.faycotheatre. com. The show begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 4, and Saturday, May 5. Sunday, May 6’s matinee begins at 3 p.m.
Sixty Local Kids Paying Tribute to the Lovable Decade of the 1980s
If you’re a fan of community theater, be prepared for a blast from the past in the Fayette County Community Theater’s upcoming student play. On August 4, 5 and 6, audiences will have the opportunity to watch a twist on the Back to the Future series in live theater format.
This year’s play is titled “Back to the 80s” and focuses on a young girl who goes back in time to try and help a younger version of her mother enter a sports competition.
Because a majority of the events of the story occur in the past, the story is riddled with pop culture references that people of most ages can get a kick out of. And, although this year’s play is a short one spanning only 70 minutes, it’s full of twists, turns and quick costume changes that will leave audiences on the edge of their seats to see what happens next.
“I would say 80 percent of the kids play at least three characters, so it’s three or four times the costuming,” said Heather Barthelme, FCCT executive director. “It’s a very ambitious play, so we’re reading it ahead of time. Also, because members are so young, Melissa and I had to explain all of the references, which is an additional step in the process of learning the script early.”
This year’s play stars roughly 60 kids from across Fayette County, ranging from elementary to middle school age. With the amount of characters allotted in the play script, FCCT hosted multiple rounds of auditions to narrow down which kids would be assigned what parts.
Many of the kids starring in this year’s play are returning actors from previous plays, but FCCT has found itself a new student director, recent La Grange High School graduate Hayden Splawn.
“Hayden was nervous to start, but once we got those scripts in our hands, there was literally no time for him to think about it. This play is super fast-paced,” said last year’s student director Bryssa Rios, who is serving as a mentor. “He knows that he has to get this done one way or the other, and he’s determined to do it while still giving the kids a great time.”
So far, that enthusiasm Splawn has worked hard to bring to the stage seems to be paying off.
The students are excited about all that they’re learning, according to FCCT staff, and with quite a bit of the play already stage-ready, it won’t take much longer for the crew to do fully off-script rehearsals.
“I want the public to know just how important these things are to kids,” said Splawn. “Theater isn’t just acting or pretending to be somebody else. The point of it is to find yourself through the characters and to build confidence in that.”