After one season, this Wake County theater group is already expanding

A community theater group in Holly Springs is entering only its second season, but it’s already expanding.

Stageworks Theatre performed four shows at Holly Springs Cultural Center during the 2017 season.Starting in September, the group will perform four more at the Holly Springs venue, and also at the new Fuquay-Varina Arts Center.

“(Fuquay-Varina) had discussed and debated the need of an arts center for decades, and it’s thrilling to see it come into being,” said Maureen Daly, cultural arts director for the southern Wake County town.

A partnership between Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs will allow Stageworks to reach a wider audience, Daly said. It will also allow both towns to better support local theater, she added.

Stageworks’ first-season shows were popular, and some even sold out, said Kathleen Hebert, manager of the Holly Springs Cultural Center.

“I’ve been so impressed with the talent and enthusiasm we’ve had on stage,” Hebert said.

She credits much of the company’s success to the ambitious storylines it has taken on, and the intimate atmosphere the cultural center provides.

In its first season, Stageworks performed Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” a murder mystery that required actors to speak in British accents and mime murders on stage; Neil Simon’s “God’s Favorite,” which included a set that was “burned down” in the second act; Brian Clark’s “Whose Life is it Anyway,” which required the star to be bedridden for the entire performance; and Jones, Hope and Wooten’s “Mama Won’t Fly,” in which the stars spend much of their time sitting in a car.

The Holly Springs Cultural Center theater has 184 seats, and audience members are never further than 35 feet from the stage.

“Performers often compliment our theater and attendees to me, as they enjoy the interactions just as much as audience members,” Hebert said.

Daly said she was excited to welcome Stageworks to Fuquay-Varina for the same reasons.

“Community theater is, I believe, a rather extraordinary force in this country,” she said. “There’s something pretty magical about seeing your neighbor on stage and cheering them on, or jumping into character to perform a song and dance for your town.”

But this is not the first theater partnership between the towns. Dan Barth, who started Stageworks Theatre in 2016, said Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs have had a quiet collaboration for years.

Fuquay-Varina used to be home to Stars Theater & Arts Center, owned by Cindy Verian. Barth, who directed occasional community plays in Holly Springs, said Verian was happy to have what Barth had begun to call the Holly Springs Community Theater company perform at her venue.

But in 2015, Fuquay-Varina bought Stars Theater from Verian with plans to renovate it into the Arts Center that will be finished this year. In the meantime, Barth began to consider starting his own official theater company, for what he calls “professional and personal reasons.”

Barth relocated to Holly Springs from New Hampshire in 2011. He graduated from Keene State College with a degree in theater, and traveled with semi-professional theater troupes for several years.

“It’s always been a passion for me,” he said, “and I thought it would be great to settle down and have a company of my own. Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina were the places that presented an opportunity.”

Barth got other active community theater members to join him, and created Stageworks Theatre with Mia Peters, Kelly Stansell and Bruce Ackerman. The four of them have stayed on as board members, and each directed one of the plays in the first season.

Today, the board consists of eight people, and Barth calls it a “nice mix of both theater experience and business experience.”

Everyone agreed a renewed partnership between the towns is good for the arts, and for the community.

“The three entities came together very cleanly,” Barth said. “This is really very exciting for us.”

Stageworks’ second season will kick off Sept. 13 with“Drop Dead!” by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore at the Holly Springs Cultural Center. The show will be performed the following weekend at the Fuquay-Varina Arts Center.

Visit the Stageworks Theatre online for Holly Springs shows or call 919-567-3909 for Fuquay-Varina shows.

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 3:25 PM.