Dining & Entertainment
Mill Town Players
Making a Mark in Pelzer By Lisa Marie Carter
Will Ragland, the Executive Artistic Director of Mill Town Players, a community theater group that performs in Pelzer, has been working in Upstate theaters for 20 years. With experience in more than 85 productions, mainly as an actor and scenic designer, he was honored with 2015 Best of the Upstate Best Local Actor. Mill Town Players held its inaugural season in 2014 – which included six productions and two concerts. Their first year included shows such as Always Patsy Cline, Dark of the Moon, Treasure Island and Grease. The group currently produces six plays per season, with two in the fall, a Christmas play, two in the spring, and a large summer musical. “I choose the plays with the help of our board of directors,” said Ragland. “We choose a collection of plays we feel our audience would most enjoy. Currently, we are interested in producing comedies and musicals that are mainly Southern-based or themed.” Last year, Mill Town Players brought Dark of the Moon to the South Carolina Theatre Association Community Theatre Festival. The group won 1st place, Best Direction, Best Set Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, Best Musical Ensemble, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Cameo. They went on to represent SC in the Southeastern Theatre Conference Community Theatre Festival in Chattanooga, TN, and won Outstanding Set Design and Outstanding Lighting Design. In addition to his extensive experience with community theater, Ragland is also an educator. At Woodmont High School in Piedmont (a Greenville County school), he formed the Wildcat Players, which went on to
Scenes from the 2014 production of “A Christmas Carol.”
set state play attendance records and win the state championship in 2012. Currently, he is enjoying his first year at Palmetto High School (Anderson District 1) by starting a new theater program and the Mustang Stage Company. Ragland plans to incorporate youth performances in the Mill Town Players in the future. “We hope to expand our reach by offering new educational programs next summer that will give birth to the youth series. This could eventually develop into a Youth Theater connected to Mill Town Players, which would include classes and camps,” said Ragland. Mill Town Players performs all shows in the Historic Pelzer Auditorium at 214 Lebby Street in Pelzer. The auditorium was built around 1920 by the mill and was used primarily as the school auditorium. It holds 687 seats with a balcony.
andersonmagazine.com
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November/December 2015