Volunteers Showcase the Magical World of Stage for Five Decades

By BRANDY CRUZ | Photos by BRANDY CRUZ and courtesy of TEMPLE CIVIC THEATRE

“There’s something for everyone at Temple Civic Theatre,” Natasha Tolleson said.

As the managing artistic director, Tolleson is responsible for planning the shows, directing every production and managing the theater. While working on current productions, she is simultaneously working on shows for the current season and planning for the future — sometimes years down the road.

“We reuse a lot of things. This past year we did ‘Spongebob’ and then ‘Little Mermaid,’ so we were able to reuse all the set and costumes and then we sold it to Ellison High (who did ‘Spongebob’ in November),” Tolleson said.

The multi-talented woman, who served as the head theater teacher for Temple High School for 31 years, took over as the managing artistic director two years ago and has loved every moment of the experience. She said she loves seeing her former students volunteer with the theater and enjoys watching how much they have grown as performers. She also loves seeing some of the earliest volunteers still volunteering today or showing their support after all these years.

Costumer Betsy Howell has been volunteering at the Temple Civic Theater since she was a child. She said she enjoys watching the group effort it takes to put on a live performance, adding that there’s something exciting and magical about bringing it all together in the end.

“When I was in 6th grade, I read ‘Gone With the Wind’ and made every costume that Margaret Mitchell described for my Barbie,” Howell said. “I like taking an idea for something in your head to a finished product.”

Howell created the costumes for “The Addams Family” in October and will be returning to the sewing room again for the February production of “Cinderella.” She said one of her favorite things is to see people begin a production as strangers and leave as friends. Set designer Paul Blackstock echoed Howell’s comments, noting that community theater is full of comradeship.

“One of the things that is so fun to watch is the camaraderie that develops between everyone involved in it. There are some cast members and backstage people who come together fairly regularly, but the beautiful thing is the new people who come along who don’t know the people and it’s so fun to watch the friendship and closeness that develops between everybody,” Blackstock said. “That’s one of the most amazing things about community theater.”

In its 57th year of bringing community theater to Central Texas, the Temple Civic Theatre kicked off its 2023-24 season with “The Addams Family” and is now preparing to launch “A Christmas Carol.” Tolleson said the Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a grumpy old miser who learns the true meaning of Christmas will be presented in a unique style.

“It’s very true to the novel,” Tolleson said. “It’s a very fun show. How could you not love ‘A Christmas Carol’?”

The Temple Civic Theatre is a nonprofit community theater that relies on the support of talented volunteers who help produce every show. Volunteers work countless hours behind the scenes of every production, using their imagination and creativity to breathe life into every performance.

Blackstock said Tolleson usually has an idea for what she wants, so it’s his job to see her vision through. He shared that since Tolleson likes the art of Edward Gorey, known for working in shades of grey, he tried to mimic Gorey’s work while painting the set pieces of “The Addams Family.”

Tolleson said she also enjoys the challenge of directing in their unique space inside the Temple Civic Theatre. Unlike traditional theaters, which have a proscenium stage, Temple Civic Theatre is a three-quarter thrust. The unique design means the stage is sticking out into the room, with seating on three sides, allowing the show to become a more immersive experience.

“It’s much more intimate,” Tolleson said. “The actors are very close, so you don’t have problems hearing. The audience sort of becomes part of that world when they’re thrust out like that.”

Temple Civic Theatre’s very first production was “You Can’t Take it With You,” directed by Marjie Rynearson in October 1966. The small community theater, which was the brainchild of Rynearson and a group of people who wanted to promote cultural arts in Central Texas, has had 312 main performances since October 1966, but the magic of the stage is still strong.

“There’s excitement generated by seeing things in front of you. I also think there’s something very special about seeing your friends, neighbors and community members on stage,” Tolleson said. “Theater is a magical shared experience for the people on the stage and the people behind the curtain. For the people who have brought that experience to life, there’s magic in that experience as well.”

Tolleson said the world of theater is unique because it has something for people of all talents. Besides acting, people can volunteer to make sets, create props, design and sew costumes, create wigs, do make-up and much more. When it all comes together, it’s magic.

“You don’t have to go to Austin to see great theater. You don’t have to go to Dallas to see great theater,” she said. “There’s great theater happening right here in Temple, Texas.”

IF YOU GO
Temple Civic Theatre
Address: 2413 S. 13th St., Temple
Phone: 254-778-4751
Website: templecivictheatre.com
Social: facebook.com/TempleCivic