What it took to rock the stage for DCT

Since 2023, our community has been able to converge inside Theatre Dublin to watch some fun, entertaining shows thanks to Dublin Community Theatre.

Beginning with “Bye Bye Birdie!,” DCT, led by Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Glenda Berry, has continued to bring quality and well-acted shows to the stage at Theatre Dublin, a venue that we as a community should cherish. Not every town our size, or even bigger, has a gem like this theatre. Or a program like DCT for that matter. Both are things we should treasure because it provides an outlet for those interested in the arts. 

Without DCT or Theatre Dublin, we would not have an opportunity to see members from our town, or the surrounding area, showcase their talents on the big stage starring in shows like the before mentioned “Bye Bye Birdie,” “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “The Music Man,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and the latest “Guys and Dolls.” And the future slate of shows presented by the DCT will include “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in November, “Annie” in April and “Grease” next July.

Auditions for “Guys and Dolls” were held on May 26 and 27. It was the first time my wife and I had ever done anything like this. We had been in many church plays for children and adult choirs. 

But this was for the big stage at Theatre Dublin, a place I have attended many concerts, community meetings and shows. The cast was announced soon after that and practices began a week later.

To get the final product, the cast put in many, many hours of practice in the evenings after many of us had spent the day at our jobs. But it was not every night – at first. It was a few days here or there. Then we had the week of July 4 off. Once we convened on Sunday, July 6 though, we would meet every evening except for July 11, practicing on the show. 

The first time we practiced “The Oldest Established,” my fellow gamblers and I learned the song and then Berry and music director Christopher Pittman walked us through the choreography. A few nights later, we learned the choreography for “Luck Be A Lady,” which turned out to be my favorite part of the show because it is driven by clever and witty dialogue forcing different and funny reactions from us gamblers.

And then there was “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” What a fun song to learn along with the choreography. Nothing like seeing gamblers go to a mission and break out into a spiritual celebration. 

By the way, for those wondering how I could easily go to my knees without hurting myself, I was wearing knee pads. There is nothing like knowing you can drop to your knees and know you are not going to feel it in your more than 50-year-old body.

The choreography was the most challenging aspect for me at first. I was concerned that I would not be able to remember what I was supposed to do in time. It reminded me of my time in marching band in high school where you had to be at a certain part of the field at a certain moment in the music. 

The same is true for choreography in a show. Everyone in this cast had certain movements and positions they had to be in for those particular songs. And we went over them many, many times and tweaked them even a few days, or even hours, before the curtain went up last Thursday.

On July 12, we were able to view our costumes for the first time. The colors jumped out at me as I walked into the men’s dressing room. I noticed the bright yellow one and looked to see who was picked to wear it. Of course, it was me. Walking out on stage with that suit was met with many responses, mostly laughter followed by, “You look good. You should wear that to church next Sunday.” It did not bother me that it was bright yellow. Somebody had to wear it. Plus, it may not have been the suit color I would naturally pick, but it was the suit that my character – Liver Lips Louie – would wear. 

What the audience does not see is what is happening behind the stage during the show. Quietly, cast members had to be in place not only for their scene but to also take out props and place them where they needed to be before the lights came up for the next scene. There is nothing like watching a big door slowly be pushed to its position behind a curtain while another scene is going on in front of it, knowing that it has to be in place before the curtain part for the next scene to begin. But it was in place every time and the audience was never aware of what it took to get there.

While Berry and Pittman led the cast in acting and music, a shoutout needs to go to Mia Harden for the reminders to the cast backstage and keeping props and other things in place. And, Jacob Berry, who played Lt. Brannigan and provided the voice for Joey Biltmore, assisted by quietly and quickly moving from one side of the stage to the other, reminding cast members when it was their turn to place props on the stage. 

One things I have noticed from previous productions of DCT shows was how easy each cast has made their performances look. While it may look that way, trust me that it comes with a lot of work and could not be accomplished without the teamwork of the cast, musicians and those working the lights and sound. 

As we got closer to opening night, I started noticing how we as a cast became a family who worked together to bring four days of entertainment to our town. 

We put on the best shows for  the audiences to enjoy while hoping  they left with the feeling that our cast not only rocked the boat, but the stage at Theatre Dublin.