Gainesville to be site of Ga. Theatre Conference

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville will be the site of the Georgia Theatre Conference this fall - with 1,200 people expected to attend. Hosted by the Gainesville Theatre Alliance, it will bring theatre artists, students, teachers, designers, and technicians from across state to Gainesville for three days in October.

The conference will feature three different theatre festivals. Brenau's Pearce Auditorium will house the largest of the three, the Secondary Play Festival, with 20 one-act plays running from 10am to10pm on Thursday and Friday (October 13-14). The Community Theatre Festival is at the Georgia Mountains Center on Friday and Saturday (October 14-15) with 12 productions over the two days. The Youth Play Festival, featuring an anticipated four plays, will be offered at Gainesville College's Ed Cabell Theatre in Oakwood.

Workshops and master classes will be offered to conference participants, some of which will be taught by Gainesville Theatre Alliance faculty and staff. GTA's artistic and managing director Jim Hammond views the conference as a "wonderful opportunity to showcase our community and the nationally-acclaimed theatre it has produced."

Hammond decided upon the theme for the conference, "Building Communities," because he feels it is a strength of Gainesville Theatre Alliance's unique program, which is a collaboration between Brenau University and Gainesville College, professional theatre artists-both resident and guest, the Northeast Georgia Community and Theatre Wings volunteers.

GTA's Ann Demling, director of theatre at Brenau, is also excited about the opportunity to showcase Brenau's and the community's "rich theatre facilities" to the 800-900 high school drama students who will be attending the conference.

"We are really looking forward to connecting with all the high school drama teachers as well," Demling says. "We want to make their conference experience here the best they've ever had so that when it comes time to advise their students on college choices, they will think of Gainesville Theatre Alliance and what we have to offer."