Theatre for the Ages

GSU Players turns 80

"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" directed by Andrea Frye, (L-R) Enoch King as Herald Loomis, Marcus Behling as Seth Holly and Patrick Joutas Donohue as Rutherford Selig.

Who knew? GSU's student theatre company, the Players, is not only the oldest chartered student organization in Georgia State history, it's the oldest produced theatre company in Georgia. Founded in 1932, the Players first hit the boards while Georgia State was known as the University System of Georgia Evening School.

McRae Williams (B.B.A. '70, M.B.A. '72), a rehired retiree in GSU's finance and administration department, remembers coming to see the Players as a boy in the mid-1950s.

"It was the first time I ever came to Georgia State," he recalls. "The play was a take-off on a silent movie. They gave out peanuts to throw at a Simon Legree-type character, and we ate the peanuts and threw the shells at the villain every time he came on stage. That made a big impression on an 8-year-old kid."

That was back when "television hadn't totally taken over," Williams says. "People enjoyed live entertainment, and the Players were a tremendous part of the university."

Today, the Players continue to entertain audiences while giving students valuable experience both on stage and behind the scenes. They put on approximately six shows a year, with one major production per semester, and make their home in Dahlberg Hall Theatre, which seats 200. Productions often are chosen to complement the curriculum of GSU's Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) in Theatre.

Anna Tucker, a junior in the program, has been involved with the Players since two weeks into her freshman year. "I was in two shows last year. I've worked as front of house manager, been in charge of show publicity, and now I'm president," she says.

The theatre company hires professional directors, designers and theatre technicians, a practice that provides students with invaluable networking opportunities as well as expert guidance.

"I know so many people, myself included, who have gotten internships at other professional theatres, and it's all because of the relationships we build here and our location, which makes it an awesome place to be as a theatre major," Tucker says. She is currently interning as a costume designer at Theatrical Outfit, which operates out of the Balzer Theatre just blocks from GSU. Last semester she interned as an assistant to celebrated Atlanta-area director Jessica Phelps West for "Freud's Last Session" at the Balzer.

Countless Players have gone on to success in the industry says Todd Studebaker, who teaches design and production and has served as the group's adviser for almost 14 years. "If you want to learn what theater is and how it works, this is the best way."