(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
Storyland Theatre has announced its final curtain call.
After 35 years, the theatre group will cease live performances. Over its run, the children’s theater group has consistently played before audiences larger than all other local live theater groups combined, and most of the attendees barely paid a dime for admission.
Opinion
The “final wrap party” will be held this Saturday, March 11 at Imperial Theater starting at 3 p.m. A video showing all the past “stars,” including myself, will be presented along with live musical acts.
Augusta radio talk show host Austin Rhodes is rarely at a loss for words, but in announcing the news on-air that Storyland was ceasing operations, he broke down in tears.
“There is no better audience to connect with. For children, it is an interactive experience. It is so pure, and it is so real to them. They don’t think they are watching a performance, so, as an actor, you have them in the palm of your hand, and you can transport them into a land of fantasy for 45 minutes,” Rhodes said.
Charmain Brackett, former managing editor of The Augusta Press and now publisher of Augustagoodnews.com, agrees with Rhodes and says she became involved with the theater company after taking her kids to see a show at the Maxwell Theater at Augusta University.
“It was my kids’ earliest exposure to theater, and they sat there engaged watching every moment. For them, it was thrilling, and I decided I wanted to be a part of that magic,” Brackett said.
In the early 1990s, not long after Barbara Feldman created Storyland Theatre, my boss at WGAC radio, the late Matt Stovall, told me of an audition for a role that was perfect for me. Actually, he told me to go down and audition, and since he was the boss, I went down and auditioned.
At first, I thought, “This is kid’s theater. It’s hokey, but I’ll do it if Matt wants me to.”
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After I got the role of Sean O’Casey playing opposite of Matt Stovall’s Mr. Moroso in Beware What You Ask Of A Fairy, I was plunged into five weeks of intense rehearsals.
Every line, every syllable, every song and every tiny bit of choreography was meticulously rehearsed under the watchful eye of Barbara Feldman.
Nothing escaped Feldman. She was more demanding of a professional performance than John Frankenhiemer, who I worked with on the TV mini series Andersonville.
“Happily! Happily!, not Happily, Happily!,” Feldman would say, waving her hand for emphasis.
In Feldman’s mind, this was not just theater for kids. It was Broadway, and she took her role as director seriously and demanded that level of professionalism from her actors.
Storyland is the only local theater company that pays its actors, so working for them is actually a professional gig.
Feldman fussed over the costumes, fiddled with lines in the script and demanded that cues be perfect to the degree that even Matt Stovall was afraid of her, and that is saying a lot. The six foot tall Stovall was rarely afraid of anyone.
Then, the magic happened.
A packed theater of some 800 kids went quiet as the lights dimmed. Slowly, out of the darkness amid a cloud of smoke created by dry ice, Mr. Moroso appeared, his evil laughter permeated the air and the theater erupted.
Backstage, it sounded like a rock concert had begun.
While acting my part onstage, I could see the kids at the edge of their seats, fists up against their cheeks, watching and taking in every single moment.
When Mr. Moroso offered my character a poisoned apple, the kids, all 800 of them, began yelling “NO! Don’t eat it!” When Mr. Moroso ended up taking a bite from the poisoned apple, the kids roared with applause.
That was the moment that I realized the grueling rehearsals were worth it. For the kids who attended, this was a magical moment, one that they would never forget.
Many years later, I was asked to join the cast in the 20th anniversary of Storyland Theatre, playing a character opposite of Austin Rhodes’ version of Mr. Moroso, and I readily agreed.
During the first performance, I strayed from what had been done in rehearsal and did a little jig, causing the audience to explode with laughter.
Barbara Feldman was furious with me.
“We do not improv! You know the rules!” Feldman said backstage, even though she had not actually seen my little improv bit. She only heard the audience’s response.
After reviewing the tape of the performance, with her hands held up to her face, she agreed that the improv with me shaking my heinie was hilarious and let me keep the little jig in the show.
“You and Austin are going to be the death of me,” Feldman said.
For the thousands of kids who attended our performances, it truly was a magical experience. For 45 minutes, they entered a world of make believe that looked as real as the Emerald City with characters they believed in, rooted for or rooted against.
Many of those kids had never even attended a live action theater play. Feldman made sure that, across 16 counties, school children could be bused in to see Storyland Theatre for free or at extremely discounted tickets depending on what the schools could pay.
When gasoline costs became an issue, Feldman pulled out the checkbook and paid for the gas.
Unlike a usual theatrical production that may only present a weekend of three shows, Storyland produced three shows per day, playing to over 23,000 people during the year.
It is amazing to me that this went on successfully for 35 years.
The theatre group’s relationship with Augusta University was always tenuous at best, depending on who was in charge at the time. Finally, the relationship fractured because of some who simply did not see the value in what was being produced.
Perhaps, in the minds of some, it was just hokey kid’s theater.
They had not experienced the magic.
In the end, no theater group, no matter how well honed and professional, can survive providing mostly discounted or free shows without a sponsoring venue. While the Imperial Theater became a great partner for a time, the theater had to be rented, and the costs of bringing Barbara Feldman’s vision of Storyland to the masses of kids over generations finally came to an end.
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In her true fashion, Feldman decided that if it cannot be done right, it should not be done at all.
The bottom line is that at age 76, Feldman is ready to retire, but there really is no one who can take her place doing everything from grant writing to directing the performances and coordinating with multiple school systems to get the kids to the show.
Barbara Feldman is a true original who simply cannot be duplicated.
I believe that Barbara Feldman should be lauded by our community for her devotion to a project that over decades brought joy and fun to all the kids in our community. Storyland Theatre celebrated the innocence and imagination of childhood even though behind the scenes, it was very much a professional adult production.
Storyland also created personal relationships that have ultimately impacted Augusta’s local media.
Even though I have known Austin Rhodes, of WGAC radio fame, since we were kids, I don’t think we ever really bonded until we were forced to hop around together in our underwear in a tiny dressing room trying to get our costume changes complete before the next scene began and we were needed on stage.
It was with Storyland Theatre that I met and befriended Charmain Brackett, and she went on to become an important part of the formation of The Augusta Press and the expansion of our coverage.
The lead playwright for Storyland Theatre, Rick Davis, is the person who suggested I ask Debbie van Tuyll to chair my Honors Program committee at Augusta University when I was a student there, forging another relationship that would ultimately lead to the formation of The Augusta Press.
The curtain may be closing on Storyland, and that fact breaks my heart, but the legacy will remain etched in Augusta history.
Again, the “final wrap party” will be held this Saturday, March 11 at the Imperial Theater starting at 3 p.m.
Of course, in keeping with tradition, the event is free to the public.
I hope all fans of theater will come out for the event and give Barbara Feldman a huge hug for such a job well done.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
