By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
The Washington High School Playmakers, a group of theater enthusiasts, was founded with a shoestring budget of $16.
Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the group is putting the finishing touches on its fall production, a comedy titled “Southern Hospitality.” The show will be presented Friday and Saturday in the Washington High School Performing Arts Center; tickets are $5 each and curtain time is 7:30 p.m.
Travis Carter is the Playmakers’ advisor and director, and he recalled what brought him to WHS.
“I was living in Onslow County at the time and working in Carteret County,” Carter said. “I came here for a group interview, and by the time I got home, I had a phone call telling me I got the job.”
Years ago, WHS had an acting group called the DeMille Players, according to Carter. He wanted to bring that concept back to life, and the Playmakers troupe was born.
Membership in the Playmakers is nonexclusive — all students with an interest in performing and the arts are welcome. Some crave the spotlight and audition for parts in the shows, while others prefer to work behind the scenes. But there’s a place for everyone.
Carter’s first troupe consisted of students in his performing-arts, stage-tech and film classes. With $16 in seed money, they put together their first production.
“Tony Harrison, who was principal at the time, wanted good, adult-like plays,” Carter said. “I didn’t know what kind of talent I had to work with, so we didn’t do a play in the fall of my first year. In the spring, we did ‘Tar Heel Tales’ for our family theater night.
With the support of local businesses — merchants purchased ads in the playbill and the Historic Downtown Washington Merchants Association sponsored the production — that first show cleared about $250.
“We would not have a theater group here if it hadn’t been for Sally Love, who bought the first ad,” said Carter, referring to the owner of the now-defunct Sunflower Books. “And we wouldn’t have survived those first years without people like Sally and Pam and Jeff Mault.”
By the following year, the Playmakers had grown by leaps and bounds, and WHS held its fall show for the first time. “Blithe Spirit” by Noel Coward was a resounding hit, and the show raised over $1,200.
“We spent pretty much all of it getting flats done, and we’re still using those today,” Carter said. “But we’ve never, ever operated in the red. We’ve been in the black the entire time I’ve been here.”
Over the years, other hits followed, including “Crimes of the Heart,” “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “Harvey.” The flats, or scenery, bear the signatures of present and former Playmakers.
In fact, Carter is hoping former members of the troupe will be among those in the audience this weekend.
“We’ve had over 150 members over the last 10 years,” he said. “It started with a small group of kids that liked theater, and we’ve done pretty good. It’s been a family thing, with a lot of support from parents, grandparents and the community.”
The box office for this weekend’s performances opens nightly at 6:30 p.m. and seating begins at 7 p.m.
Student cast and crew
of “Southern Hospitality”
Elizabeth Nuckols, Kayla Danae Bruce, Megan White, Allie Evans, Jessica Bass, Trent Davis, Cameron Sparrow, Charlie Tingen, Erin Stowe, Dylan Willoughby, Casey King, Brittany “Pixie” Woolard, Matthew Recko, Noelle Gargaro, Jordan Woolard, Matt Jones, Ellie Piper, Seth Derner, Gabrielle Lane, Ashley Bostic, Briana Credle, Bridgette Mozingo, Montell Roundtree, Allison Donadio, Illysha Brimmage and Chris Simmons.