JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

Jonesborough Repertory Theatre is looking for a little help.

The theatre, located on Main Street next to the Eureka Hotel, began its maiden voyage in February with “Maggie’s Getting Married,” then followed with “Grace & Glorie.”

Now it’s looking forward to hosting three more upcoming plays and a variety of other events — from poetry readings to dancing competitions — and it just wants to spruce up a little.

“Underneath the stage is a lot of lumber and we’ve got a lot of scraps that we don’t need anymore,” said Kathleen Buttolph with JRT. “There are lots of props and costumes.”

And more.

That means a clean-up day. So on Saturday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteer Day will be held at the theater, Buttolph said.

“Anybody can come in to move, clean, throw away,” she said. As a reward, those who work the entire 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift will be able to get into Wetlands for $5 that afternoon.

They will also be getting the chance to play a part in what is beginning to look like an exciting first season for the newly resurrected JRT, according to Buttolph.

First up, JRT will present Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s Tony Award-winning revue “Good Evening” on June 24-26 at 8 p.m. This hilarious and often wildly skewed collection combines classic sketches like “Down the Mine” and “One Leg Too Few” with newer ones such as “The Gospel Truth” which have since become classics in their own right.

Next, the Allied Arts Foundation, in conjunction with JRT, will present “Daddy’s Dyin’ — Who’s Got the Will?” by Del Shore — a fast-paced comedy sure to please. “Daddy’s Dyin’” will be presented July 2,3, 9, 10 at 8 p.m. and July11 at 2 p.m.

Later in July, “Quilters” will take the JRT stage. Auditions are being earlier this week for seven women to play roles in “Quilters.” Buttolph said for anyone to call if they are interested in volunteering to help withthis production. Performances are scheduled for July 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. at July 25 at 2 p.m.

And that is just the beginning. The idea, Buttolph said, “is to create this (JRT) as an ongoing art place.”

Ideally, JRT will soon become Jonesborough’s site for music, theater, poetry readings, gallery displays and more. Susan Lachmann is already scheduled to perform. Milligan College plans to bring “Footloose” in November and “Mid-Summer’s Night Dream” in the spring. And a clogging contest is set for July 4.

Silent for so many months, Buttolph and other theatre supporters believe that JRT is now ready to grow into part of the Jonesborough experience,

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com