Alexa Connelly And Carrie Conklin: The New Leadership at Gettysburg Community Theatre
For over fifteen years, Gettysburg Community Theatre (GCT) has been a pillar of the performing arts community in central Pennsylvania, offering opportunities for performers of all ages and abilities to learn, to perform, and to be part of the arts community. Recently, the central PA theatre community was rocked by news of the sudden resignation and subsequent arrest of GCT’s founding artistic director.
The GCT Board and volunteers swiftly took action as the news continued to break, informing the wider community and reassuring the theatre community, stating, “commitment to our community and providing high-quality entertainment remains. We thank you all for your support as we navigate this difficult time and look forward to a bright future.”
What those outside of GCT may not realize is that from the very beginning, from the moment of the former leader’s resignation, the Board and numerous volunteers began to troubleshoot, to determine what needed to be done first, and to take the actions necessary to ensure that the theatre will be there for the community for years to come. The efforts of the Board and others to provide a path forward have resulted in the hiring of Alexa (Lexi) Connelly to the position of Executive Director and Carrie Conklin to the position of Artistic Director.
Connelly and Conklin took a breather from the whirlwind of planning, communicating, and rebuilding to chat with BroadwayWorld about their hopes and dreams for this transition and moving into the future with the goal of keeping the best parts of GCT and moving beyond the rest by refocusing on the community part of Gettysburg Community Theatre. As they commented, “the theatre is not one person. It was never meant to be one person…now we’re coming into a new beginning where it’s the community’s theatre, and that will be the focus moving forward.”
BWW: For those who may be less familiar with these titles, tell us a little about your
roles as Artistic Director and Executive Director.
Conklin: I am the Artistic Director, which means I am ultimately in charge of what we see on the stage. It includes choosing the season; being in rehearsals; overseeing the directors, choreographers, technical director, and volunteers; making sure that the house is managed so that patrons know where they’re going and feel welcome. I’ll also be responsible for organizing other events, like our cabarets, camps, and other special events. It will involve a great deal of creating relationships, networking, getting to know people in the community and other theatres. This is not just a Gettysburg Community Theatre thing—we want to collaborate with area businesses and other theatres so that they know we’re here for them, and we can all support one another. That’s the way it should be. I guess my job is also to ask Lexi if we have enough money for all the crazy things I want to do.
Connelly: As the Executive Director my job involves developing strategies and plans for ensuring the success of the theatre into the future. I’ll be working with the Board and the staff to manage the business side of the theatre, making sure that we are operating effectively and in a fiscally responsible way. Sometimes my job will mean saying “no, we don’t have the budget for that”, but I’m hoping that as we move forward with a solid plan and operational strategies in place, that I can say “yes” a lot more frequently. Carrie and I have already and will continue to work together to make this transition as smooth as possible, focusing on clear, consistent, and efficient communications; figuring out what issues need to be dealt with first; and so forth. Right now we’re really taking it one day at a time, but we’ll soon be able to start looking further into the future—into the fall and beyond. We’re so excited for that!
BWW: Now that we know what your positions at GCT are, tell us a little about your backgrounds.
Conklin: I have my bachelor’s degree from Michigan State in vocal music education and my master’s degree from Lebanon Valley in music education, along with various certifications in vocal pedagogy. I taught in public schools for 20 years, and now I’m two weeks into my position as the Artistic Director here at GCT. I’ve been involved in this theatre for 14 years, starting around 2013. I’ve directed shows and also have a private studio here at the theatre. A lot of the elements of this position are things I’ve been doing all along, so it feels like a very natural way to ease into the job. I am also a familiar face for the GCT community, which I hope will help to make the transition easier for them as we go through this time of disruption together. Kids especially like a familiar face, so I hope I can provide that continuity to connect them to what they already know while moving forward.
Connelly: Prior to starting as the Executive Director of GCT two weeks ago, I was leading HR and operations for corporate businesses. I have been volunteering here at the theatre since 2013. I started doing theatre when I was 12 years old—something Carrie and I have in common—so theatre has been an important part of my life for a long time. However, I know that performing isn’t necessarily where I can personally shine the most. I’ve volunteered at GCT in a number of different aspects over the years—on stage, back in the tech booth, cleaning (I haven’t really done much with costumes because I don’t sew)—but I really like more of the business side of it. I started getting more into that side of it last year, so it really felt like a natural progression into the role. I really think my operations background will come in handy because I love starting with chaos and making systems out of it.
BWW: Lexi, acknowledging that you’ve only been in this position for two weeks, since you have been volunteering behind the scenes for a bit, could you tell our readers a little about the difference between working in this kind of position at a non-profit organization versus the corporate world that you’re accustomed to?
Connelly: Yes, it has been so different. First of all, with a non-profit, the Board is your boss. So you have 8-10 bosses rather than just one. There are also a lot of different decisions that have to be made and opinions on the best direction to take. And being in an artistic non-profit, things like systems, processes, and operations are not really their focus a lot of the time, so that has been a challenge—coming in and working to organize the chaos. There are paper files, which is wild compared to the corporate world today. I’m like “which Google Drive is that in”, and their response is “here’s the drawer”. Something else that is very different being in the non-profit world that is a huge positive for me is the community that’s there to support you and feeling so loved and feeling like people believe in you and want to see you succeed because that means that everyone succeeds. That’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed between corporate and non-profit—the passion.
Conklin: And I love that you’re coming in and doing that side of it, Lexi. As artistic as I am, inside, I want structure. I want everyone to know that there is a structure. I want us to feel confident as we move forward that we can afford to do the things we’re doing and that we’re doing things the right way. When we have that structure, we’re more able to freely play and engage in the art of it. I can’t wait to come up with wild ideas for you to say “no” to.
BWW: Since you’ve been working together as volunteers here at GCT for some time, you have a foundation for working together officially as colleagues. Talk a little about that.
Connelly: We work really well together. We both have so many ideas and love to throw them out at each other. We also both really love to work—we’re obsessed with it. And, we’re both Saggitarius, so we get each other’s idiosyncrasies. We recognize that we’re both working toward the same common goal, we’re focused on that goal, and whatever doesn’t get us there we can put on the back-burner.
Conklin: We just keep reminding ourselves that none of the things that are going on around us change our mission. Even if others underestimate us, it doesn’t change our mission. Our mission is to create a safe space, create art, and get to 2027. That’s the mission.
BWW: Speaking of getting to 2027, let us know about what’s coming up for the rest of this season.
Connelly & Conklin: Plot twist!
Conklin: The Board has given us permission to change up the fall from what was originally planned. We’re going to be talking soon about what we want to do with the season. We just recently had Buzz Jones and his band on March 28th, for a sold out performance. Buzz Jones is a retired jazz professor from the college, and he and his band are brilliant. Honey on the Rocks comes on April 18th for two shows because tickets have been selling so fast—they’ll be performing original music and some soul renditions. Peter Pan, Jr. is our next children’s show that opens May 1st.
Connelly: Our summer camp registration just opened with half day and full day options, so be sure to check the website and facebook page for information on those. And we’ll be having an informational meeting for this season’s Penguin Project show soon!
Conklin: We’re doing a production of Dare to Dream, Jr. as part of the summer camps. We have also just announced the cast and started rehearsals for 1776 with Dick Shoap as director and Lindsey Ringquist as assistant director. We’re doing a Broadway Rising concert for teens and kids to perform Broadway songs in June, which should be a lot of fun.
Connelly: More to come on the rest of the season!
BWW: Now, I have to ask, because there are so many fans out there—Rocky Horror. Will GCT stage The Rocky Horror Show this fall?
Connelly: I’m sure you’ve gotten that question. We’ve already gotten that question, too. But we haven’t even talked about it yet. We have the royalties for it.
Conklin: But we want to approach making that decision with sensitivity. We really want to do it because the community loves it, we love it, and it’s such a tradition. We’d love to revamp it—to keep the best parts of it and create a new production.
Connelly: Yes, we could totally flip the script on it! Oh my gosh, did we just make a decision?
Conklin: I think we did. Can we announce it?
Connelly: Yes! As of right now, we do plan to do The Rocky Horror Show in the fall!
BWW: Big picture—what are your hopes and dreams for what GCT could become?
Conklin: I would love to update the physical facilities—update the carpet, lobby, green room—to make it a more functional space and more pleasant for those who come to see the shows and those who are in the shows.
Connelly: If the sky were the limit, I would love to have a space where we could do theatre in the round. I love the space we have, but if we could do some updates throughout the building, there are so many more possibilities. It would be great to update the lighting system some day and have a better tech system so that we have more capabilities for our productions. I would love to have a really nice bar area for the lobby and a speaker so that we could play music in the lobby to make that area even more welcoming for our patrons. Of course we’ll need donors to help make some of these dreams realities. But first we need to put plans into place, and that’s what we’re going to be working on.
Conklin: That’s right. We want to be able to approach donors with specific plans and information on how that will benefit what we, as a community theatre, do.
Connelly: There are so many hopes and dreams.
Conklin: Aside from hopes for the physical facility, we also want to develop relationships and partner with other theatres and organizations.
Connelly: Yes! And we want to bring in new faces—new performers, new volunteers, new audiences. We hope that anyone who tried us out before will give us another try.
Conklin: I think there’s a lot that GCT can do that we can’t even imagine, and we just have to be open to it.
BWW: How do you see your programming moving forward?
Conklin: I see it continuing to expand so that there is something for everyone—something for all ages, for all abilities, for varieties of types of performance. We have so much of that in place already with our senior shows, our children and teen shows, our adult programming, our improv group. I’d like to see more “ya’ll come” shows—where there are roles on stage and off for intergenerational participation.
Connelly: We’re also looking to add back in non-musicals because not everyone wants to sing and dance. Sometimes they just want to act, and that’s where they shine, so we want to create space in the programming for that again. And as we’re talking about the “ya’ll come” type of shows, we have always had safety protocols in place—child abuse clearances and criminal background checks have always been required for performers and volunteers. But we’re taking additional steps to ensure the safety of everyone who enters the theatre and making our commitment to that more intentional.
BWW: What are your goals for getting the word out about GCT and the theatre’s future?
Connelly: We’ve had so many members of the community reach out to help with advertising and communications, and we’re so excited about that. We want to be able to use diverse skill sets to help get the word out in different ways.
Conklin: So often people say “what can I do to help” but really, if you want to help, just tell us what your skills are, and we’ll find a place for you. We can use anyone who wants to volunteer.
This conversation with Carrie Conklin and Lexi Connelly was filled with optimism and hope for the future of the performing arts in general and of Gettysburg Community Theatre in particular. Stay tuned for what’s in store by visiting the theatre’s website at gettysburgcommunitytheatre.org or their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GettysburgCommunityTheatre
Photo Credit Doreen Laskiewicz https://www.doreenphotography.com/
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