Rich As Life: Theatre in Pike County, KY
By Lainey Vazquez
Lights shone down, a woman dressed in all white stood center stage. Her voice, sweeter than any angel's, rang out and found purchase within my chest, reverberating and taking hold of my heart. Her white cowboy hat seemed to halo her short curls, the rhinestones around the brim sparkling in the spotlight. That woman was my momma.
When I was six years old, my mom found an ad in our local newspaper calling for people to audition for a play in Elkhorn City at Artist Collaborative Theatre. Hand in hand with my brother and I, only 6 and 4 years old, she walked into that big blue building and never looked back. She was cast in Honky Tonk Angels. This jukebox musical is made up of classic country songs by Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and more. It follows three women in various life stages who come together to pursue their dream of being musicians. My mom would bring my brother and me along to rehearsals, and we learned the show by heart before it even opened. When it did open to the public, it was pure magic. Live music, passion, humor, and heartbreak overwhelmed me as I sat in the back of the black box theatre, clapping and singing along. It was the first play I had ever seen, but watching my mother perform was like having my eyes opened for the first time. I knew that I wanted to do that too.
Founded in 2001, ACT was originally a theatre company that used other spaces to put on performances, including the East Ridge High School’s Auditorium and the Breaks Interstate Parks’ Amphitheater. In 2008, they were able to acquire the funds to build their own theatre. Over the years, they grew their numbers, especially through their free after-school kids program that allowed students, including me, to learn and put on junior shows. They competed in state and national competitions over the years, KTA and SETC, and won several awards, including Best Actress, Outstanding Production, and Outstanding Vocal Performance. It is the most award-winning community theatre in Kentucky.
In the spring of 2011, I was double-cast as Chip in Beauty and the Beast, splitting the role with another talented young girl and switching between a young villager and a teacup every night. This experience sparked a love of the arts, theatre, music, and dance in me that demanded to be satisfied. I was Wendy in Peter Pan Jr., flying through the sky every night. I was Sister Mary Roberts in Sister Act, Mercy Lewis in The Crucible, Mary Ann in Gilligan’s Island, Sophie in Mamma Mia, and most recently, Meg in Little Women. I lived hundreds of lives on that stage, each beautiful in its own way, becoming people so different from myself yet finding more of me in all of them. I loved that big blue barn of ours, and then we lost it.
On January 24,2020, Artist Collaborative Theatre caught fire and burnt to the ground. The cause of the fire is unknown, but faulty cables are believed to have shorted and sparked. No one was in the building, but everything that had been built, stored, costumed, and collected since 2008 was gone. In our devastation and loss, we refused to give up. We found alternative rehearsal spaces in community centers and the Pike County Extension Offices. We found other places that offered us their spaces and amphitheaters to perform in, in spite of all the loss, we persisted. As much as we loved that building, ACT is much more than just a theatre: it is a family made up of the community that supports it to this day.
Because of this theatre, its local volunteers, and its children’s education program, I am a more confident, hardworking, dedicated, and well-spoken young woman than I otherwise would have been. ACT challenged me to be more than I thought I could be, whether onstage or off. My time with ACT has given me the social skills to make friends everywhere, the ability to speak in front of crowds, and to solve problems on the fly, because in live theatre and life, the show must go on.
The most recent show I was in, Little Women, just ended at the beginning of March and was performed in the auditorium of Pikeville High School. The show was a testament to the acting capabilities and the heart of ACT. Little Women is a joyous and heartbreaking show, and finding the balance in those extremes is no easy task. Tensions have to build, rise and fall, in order for the audience to stay with you and understand where these characters are coming from. The production was Kate Hamill’s adaptation, which is already an amazing script, but the dedication from the cast to these characters and honoring each of their stories was what truly brought it to life. Playing Meg was a dream come true, and the young women, from ages 14-21, who played my sisters in the show were amazing. The connection we had with one another evolved into a true sisterhood supported by the amazing talent around us. Being able to trust each other in our roles fully allowed us to focus on our own and develop the bonds that bring this show to life. It was an amazing production that brought several people back to see the show more than once. What started off as a tiny spark in a community has grown into a national award-winning theatre company that has raised generations of children and given hundreds of adults professional theatre experience entirely for free. It has become a staple in the community, a draw for local tourism, and a home for many people who didn’t even know they were searching.
