What's better and more personal than watching a movie on the big screen? Attending a live theatre performance! And the best source for live theatre is closer than you might think, right here in our own hometown of Sparta, NC.
Alleghany Community Theatre (ACT) has been around for over 30 years, and has earned a reputation for putting together great performances in a variety of venues throughout Alleghany County and in neighboring cities. ACT is completely powered by volunteers, from the cast and backstage crew to the creative graphic artists and the board of directors.
News & Events
February 9, 2024 A Special Reader's Theatre...
Alleghany Community Theatre (ACT), in partnership with Alleghany County Public Library, announce performances for Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora and Della Ephron. Performances will be held at 6:30 pm on February 22 and 23, 2024 at Alleghany County Public Library at 115 Atwood Street in Sparta NC. There is no official admission charge, but donations will be gladly taken at the door.
Love, Loss and What I Wore is a play written by Nora and Della Ephron based upon the book of the same title by Ilene Beckerman. The characters are all adult women of varying ages. The play is a series of 28 vignettes which tell the story of how women relate to their clothing as part of their identity.
It’s not really about fashion as much as it is about memories of first dates, wardrobe malfunctions, favorite boots, items that your mother wore, items your mother forbid you to wear and the agony of dressing room anxiety.
Reader’s Theatre is a format of performance in which the actors present a dramatic reading of a play, with minimal to no props, scenery or costumes. Actors use their scripts throughout the performance and rely mainly upon vocal and facial expressions to portray the characters in the play. Readers Theatre requires actors to be very familiar with the script but does not require memorization of lines. Also, Readers Theatre requires a much shorter commitment of time for rehearsals than a fully staged play production.
Love Loss and What I Wore is a humorous, bittersweet and insightful journey. This ACT production is directed by Paula Joines with performances on Thursday February 22 and Friday February 23 at 6:30 pm each night at the Alleghany County Public Library.
Be sure to watch our Facebook page for more information about plans for the 2024 season.
Auditions for Alleghany Community Theatre’s upcoming fully staged production of Foxfire will be held on Wednesday 2/28 and Thursday 2/29 at Muddy Creek Café and Music Hall in Sparta, NC at 6:30 each evening. There are roles for 2 females and 4 males. The role of Dillard requires singing. Foxfire will be directed by Michael Malloy. Scripts are available for persusal at the Alleghany County Library in Sparta. We will also be recruiting for backstage, box office, and publicity volunteers during auditions, so drop by if you are interested in those areas.
Foxfire is a wistful family drama about an aging Appalachian widow and her musician son. The play opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in November 1982 and won the 1983 Tony Award for Best Actress for Jessica Tandy in the role of Annie Nations.
Annie is the indominable Appalachian widow woman of 79 who lives alone on her mountain farm with the ascerbic ghost of her husband Hector. Her tranquility is threatened by a brash real estate developer, Prince Carpenter, who wants to turn her land into a vacation resort. She also has growing concerns about her son Dillard, an early middle aged country music singer who has come home with two stranded children because his wife has run away. Annie’s battle to decide her future takes her through some funny, touching and magical flashbacks to her life with Hector.
Played on Broadway by Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, this couple provides a staunchly affirmative view of country folk. The cast is rounded out with the characters of Holly Burrell, a young woman of about 25 who has returned home to the mountains from a teaching job in Atlanta and the weary but kindly country doctor in his sixties.
Production dates for Foxfire will be April 26, 27 & 28 and May 3, 4 and 5. For further information, please email dexter322@hotmail.com.
Need another show fix? See below for our radio plays recorded during COVID.
Listen to our Radio Plays from the Spring/Summer of 2021:
The first show we completed is a radio play originally broadcast back in the 1940's: The Bickersons "Second Honeymoon." This is a comedy show where a man and his wife are constantly bickering at each other. Poor John Bickerson is the hen-pecked husband who regrets his first honeymoon, much less his second; his wife Blanche is the one doing most of the needling.
The second show is an Agatha Christie mystery starring Hercule Poirot, entitled "The Case of the Careless Victim."
Visit our podcast page and...
We are always seeking volunteers to help with taking tickets / tech / backstage. Please contact us if interested.
Our 2024 Season
The first three productions of our 2024 season are shown below. See our plays page for dates and a complete listing of all performances.
Love, Loss, and What I WoreAdmission: Donation based
Join this insightful journey of women who explore their identity with the help of stories relating to their wardrobe.
Foxfire A Drama for the Spring
See the special announcement about this show elsewhere on this web page. Auditions are being held at the end of February!
To Be AnnouncedA Comedy for the Summer
If you like farces or adult comedy, stick around and find out which show will be produced during the summer of 2024!