From Script to Spotlight

By: Addie Osborne
/
February 26, 2024

From Script to Spotlight

A Theatre at Centre Retrospective

By Jennifer Goff, Grissom Associate Professor of Theatre, Chair of the Theatre Program

When I give a tour to a prospective student, one of my favorite moments is when they walk into Weisiger Theatre and set foot on that stage. This is the moment when I can feel a student imagining themselves telling stories, making friends and experiencing theatre as part of the Centre College community. Over the last 50 years, the undergraduates at Centre – first as Centre Players (a student-run organization that dates back far beyond the Norton Center and continues to produce exciting work to this day!), then as the DramaCentre and now as Theatre at Centre – have had the opportunity to perform, design, direct, stage manage, crew and applaud their classmates in this phenomenal space. Not many theatre programs of our size can boast state-of-the-art, professional-level facilities like those made possible by the presence of the Norton Center. What follows is only a drop in the sea of stories that have crossed the Weisiger stage. We hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane, and that you will join us to see what lies in store for this amazing partnership in the next 50 years and beyond!

Scroll through the gallery to see Theatre at Centre over the last 50 years…

Actors on the set of Alice In Wonderland, dressed in costume and performing

Alice in Wonderland (73-74)

The 1973-1974 Centre Players season included The Royal Hunt of the Sun by Peter Shaffer, Ring Round the Moon by Jean Anouilh and this delightful production of Alice in Wonderland directed by Dr. West T. Hill featuring Jo Ellen Powell (’74) as Alice. This inspired the choice of the musical Alice by Heart, which will close out Theatre at Centre’s 2023-2024 season.

Actors perform Twelfth Night on the Weisiger Theatre stage.

Twelfth Night (1978)

Shakespeare’s musically raucous Twelfth Night has graced the Weisiger stage three times in its history – first in 1978, directed by Dr. West T. Hill, then again in 1995, directed by Dr. Patrick Kagan-Moore and a third time in 2018, as the first production directed by Dr. Jennifer Goff.

A slightly blurry photograph of actors performing Twelfth Night on the Weisiger Theatre stage.

Twelfth Night (1996)

Actors perform Twelfth Night on the Weisiger stage

Twelfth Night (2018)

The cast of Our Town performing on the Weisiger Theatre stage.

Our Town (1980)

The 1980 production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town incorporated students, faculty, community members and their children, creating a production that felt very much like a snapshot of our own small-town Danville. Mark Nunnelly (class of ’81 and current chair of the Centre College Board of Trustees) played the Stage Manager, Robert Groves (’82) played George and Mary Hall (’84) played Emily.

Cyrano de Bergerac production on the Weisiger stage. Actors in costume are posed around the set with two main actors in standing in the middle

Cyrano de Bergerac (1981)

The 1981 production of Cyrano de Bergerac featured Larry Pritchett (’81) in the title role on a magnificent, sprawling set befitting the romantic setting.

Two actors on stage for Mill on the Floss. One sits and reads while another stands behind him, also holding a book

Mill on the Floss (1997)

The Mill on the Floss, adapted from George Eliot’s novel by Helen Edmundson, was Matthew Hallock’s first scenic design in 1997.

Actors perform The Yellow Boat on the Weisiger Theatre stage.

The Yellow Boat (2004)

In 2004, we produced The Yellow Boat by David Saar, directed by Jane Dewey. Ian Frank (’04) is center, playing Ben, wearing costumes designed by Erica Abele (’04).

Three actors performing in Little Shop of Horrors, dressed in costume. One holds a carnivorous plant prop.

Little Shop of Horrors (2005)

2005 saw the staging of everyone’s favorite musical about carnivorous plants, Little Shop of Horrors, featuring history professor Steve Beaudoin alongside Lauren Marx (’08) and Drew Davison.

Actors perform Still, Going Forward, Backward on the Weisiger Theatre stage.

Still, Going Forward, Backward (2007)

Still, Going Forward, Backward was staged in 2007 by guest artist and the playwright of the piece, Daniel Stein – an expert in physical theatre. Pictured are Landon Berry (’08), Elizabeth Schildkret (’08), Alwyn McLeod (’10), Lauren Marx (’08), David Brown (’08), Becca Finney (’11). Lighting design by Talia Harris (‘08).

Three actors on stage of Master Harold. The scene is a cafe with one actor behind the counter and two in front, talking

Master Harold… and the Boys (2009)

In 2009, Jane Dewey directed Master Harold… and the Boys by South African playwright Athol Fugard. Featuring (from L to R) Alwyn McLeod (’10), Gregory Cherry (’10) and Avery Koenig (’11) on a set designed by David Winingham (’11).

Dramatic stage lights shine on actors in Moby Dick. Patrick Kagan Moore, playing Captain Ahab, stands on a platform to the left of the frame.

Moby Dick (2015)

Theatre professor Patrick Kagan-Moore took the on-stage helm in the role of Captain Ahab in this dynamic 2015 production of Moby Dick, directed by returning alumnus Ian Frank (’04).

An actor and actress of Orient Express stand nose-to-nose in discussion

Orient Express (2019)

In 2019, alumnus Andrew Stairs returned to lead the cast of Murder on the Orient Express as Hercule Poirot. He is pictured here with Michaela Blanton (’21), who went on to graduate from The Actor’s Conservatory in Portland, OR. This would end up being our last in-person performance before the COVID pandemic shut down theatre productions around the world.

This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing (2023)

In the spring of 2023, Theatre professor Daniel Bird Tobin directed his first production at Centre with an imaginative and inventive staging of This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing by Finnegan Kruckemeyer. Pictured: Hannah Nye ('23), Thomas Brown ('25), Hadley O'Bryan ('26), Taylor Hord ('23), Liz Dickerson ('26), Laura Taylor ('26), Michelle Chan ('23).