Cherokee Civic Theatre notes 35th anniversary
BY CAMILLE JONES

This is a story of tradition, civic pride and volunteerism.

March is the month that the Cherokee Civic Theatre celebrates its 35th anniversary.

Thirty individuals met March 1, 1973, to discuss organizing a theater group. The organizational meeting was held on March 15 of that year with a board of directors elected and Paul Cox as the first president of Cherokee Civic Theatre.

Cherokee Civic Theatre, as with any organization, started small producing local playwrights' plays.

The organization has now come full circle and as in the 1990s the theatre group is again producing local playwrights' works.

Over the years the theatre has had 29 presidents, 44 directors and innumerable volunteers who constructed and painted sets, rigged lighting and even acted in the productions.

There have been 136 productions performed. The stage has been shared with Jacksonville College. Members have welcomed Tyler's Theater on Tour, as well as the Rusk High School drama group and the theater arts department of Brook Hill School.

The theatre has brought musicals, drama, comedy, mysteries and readers' theater to local audiences.

Actors and actresses have performed in the Cherokee County courthouse, the high school, the New Southern Motel Inn and even on a flat-bed railroad car.

One forward thinking director took the play, "Charlotte's Web," to every elementary school in Cherokee County. What a presentation for some who might never have seen a live production.

The theatre has grown over the years knowing that the youth are the future of the theater. The TNT (Thespians N Training) program has been successful and will continue to be as long as the theatre has those people who will share their time and talent and volunteer.

Members agree, "We do owe a debt of gratitude to the people of Rusk and the surrounding area for their support in this endeavor."