This seven-part series is now an eight-parter, thanks to my pal Jon Joy, who sent in this essay about another theatre group that's been around more than a decade.
Free Spirit Productions (1998-present?)
Free Spirit Productions (FSP) was founded in August 1998 by Tressa Preston, Cindy Sullivan and a volunteer force of 20 local theatre artists including Jonathan Joy, Herschel Jeffrey and Dave Hall.
The original intent was to renovate and re-open the John C.C. Mayo Amphitheater in Armco Park in Ashland. The group's name was chosen because of its imaginative and nonconformist connotation; FSP artists wanted to present shows that were rarely performed on stages in Ashland.
After a year of brainstorming and fundraising, the group produced its first play, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, in July 1999.
After two years and three shows at the amphitheater, FSP became a group without a home. Managing the space was simply too much to bear for a group of young artists focused on performance over site maintenance; the group handed the space over to Backstage Players and moved its home base to Huntington in 2001 with a performance of Simply Selma at the Huntington Museum of Art.
In the years that followed, FSP would stage two or three straight plays a year, both new and classic, at venues throughout the Tri-State such as the Museum of Art, Marshall University, the Paramount Arts Center and the Jeslyn Performing Arts Center.
Shows included The Glass Menagerie (2002), Fool for Love (2003), an Irish Drama Festival (2004), The Santaland Diaries (2003 - '05), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (2007) and more. The group has also presented several plays written by co-founder Jonathan Joy, including The Princess of Rome, Ohio (2005), Just Another Day in November (2006) and Lunch at the Fork n' Finger (2008).
FSP has represented Huntington at Festiv-all Charleston for the past five years and once traveled a production to the Columbus Fringe Festival. The group has also performed for the West Virginia Shakespeare and Renaissance Association and was featured in a Marcus Gregio book about theatre companies around the world.
These days the troupe is in a bit of a hiatus. It's been nearly two years since their last major production. Recent shows include Festiv-all one act performances and nothing more.
Whether FSP is on its last legs or poised to make a comeback is unsure - only time will tell.
Next: Groups that faded away.
No comments:
Post a Comment