Interview: Billie And Belle Overstreet of ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Actors Theatre Of Little Rock
Mother/Daughter duo head to New York after Halloween classic
By: Theresa Bertram Oct. 15, 2025
Kicking off my new series spotlighting families in Arkansas theatre, I sat down with backstage dynamo Billie Overstreet and her on-stage powerhouse daughter Belle (my very first profile in the series) just as The Rocky Horror Show struts into Actors Theatre of Little Rock, October 15–31. We talked origin stories, rehearsal-room culture, and what it means to close an Arkansas chapter together before leaping to New York. If you want to see their story in motion, catch their Arkansas encore at Rocky Horror, you’ll witness exactly what they embody: brave artistry, generous hearts, and theatre magic that travels with you, no matter the city.
BWW: How did this whole theatre journey start for your family?
Billie: I grew up in Florida, where theatre and glee club were huge, but when I moved to Quitman around age 13, my high school didn’t have theatre. Everything reignited when our daughter Belle was about 10. We were connected to Conway Dinner Theater through Shannah Rae, who was giving voice lessons at Faulkner Academy of Arts (FARTS). She was also my RA in college at CBC. Shannah told Belle to audition for The Wizard of Oz (High School Edition). Kristen Sherman directed it and cast Belle as the Cowardly Lion.
Belle: I was ten! It was so fun.
Billie: I still have the email that Kristen sent saying ‘your daughter blew our minds. No doubt she is the Cowardly Lion. I never met Kristen until then, but I was asked to backstage mom everybody, and so I did, and I’ll never forget watching her step on stage that first time, and I remember thinking ‘Holy crap! This is big.’
Belle: She doesn’t suck!
Billie: I remember asking her at intermission, “Where did that come from?” And I remember you saying that ‘I get to go on that stage and just be someone I’m not.’
Belle: Oh yeah.
Billie: She was going through it at the time.
BWW: From there, it sounds like you became a full-on theatre family.
Billie: Very much. So then she did Annie.
Belle: That’s when you really got involved.
Billie: I became stage manager there at Conway Dinner Theatre. Kristen directed that one as well. Then Shannah directed Into the Woods and Kristen and I were in that. Around then, Amber and Kristen pulled me aside and said that they wanted to start their own theatre, which was Red Curtain Theatre. I was their idea fairy for awhile, and then Belle was cast in everything and I stage managed. For about six years I stage-managed nearly every show.
Belle: That makes it sound like I was cast because you were stage managing.
Billie: No no no no. I was never allowed to be involved in the casting process if she was in it.
BWW: Were there times that you were on stage together?
Billie: The Addams Family (2016) at Red Curtain with director Justin Pike. I was stage managing and auditioned as a joke singing “When You’re Good to Mama”—but as “When You’re Good to Grandma.” Justin kept calling me in to stand with different “families,” then suddenly said, “Billie, come stand in the picture.” I ended up playing Grandma, and Belle was Pugsley.
Belle: It was so funny, it was stupid.
Billie: Nobody knew either of us were each other. Is that not hysterical?! And then, we did.....
Belle: The only other thing we did on stage together was Into the Woods at Red Curtain. Most of the time I’m onstage, and for Rocky Horror I’m onstage and she is backstage, which is our last show in Arkansas together. There was one time that we were both backstage, and it did not work out well for us.
Billie: It was Actors Theatre of Little Rock first show, which was Rocky Horror, three years ago. I was asked to be stage manager, and I realized real quickly that we needed an assistant stage manager, and Belle was 18 or 19 – underage to be at Discovery.
Belle: Yes, I was too young to be there at Discovery.
Billie: And we pulled her in to be assistant stage manager. But halfway through the process, she said ‘Mom, I’m meant for the applause. This backstage stuff is too hard,’ and it is. People think they can stage manage all the live long day. It’s hard!
Belle: Yeah, I hated it!
Billie: I love stage managing. It’s my favorite. So we moved into the Little Rock scene, and it’s difficult, because most theatres have their people that they like to put on stage.
Belle: And there were also a group of kids my age that had grown up with a lot of those directors and a lot of those theatres, so it was kind of difficult for me to be like...I’m here too.’
Billie: It’s just hard to break into the scene. But then I was asked to join The Studio Theatre Board. It was a hard decision because I didn’t want to join the board and prevent Belle from being cast or make people think Belle is only being cast because I’m on the board. But Justin was very adamant that he wasn’t going to cast or not cast someone just because mama is on the board. So I got on the board and started doing more and more in Little Rock.
Belle: Since then I’ve done The Little Mermaid and Footloose at the Royal, Grease as Rizzo at the Rialto.
Billie: You just did West Side Story with ATLR. That was your first ATLR show.
Belle: And before that I did As You Like It with Arkansas Shakespeare.
Billie: And it is a little sad that now we have started to get our footing in the Little Rock scene and making friends, we are leaving.
Belle: But at least it is in New York...a place for creativity and art, and not some middle of nowhere.
Billie: So it’s been a ride for 13 years. I agreed to be stage manager before Belle was even cast in Rocky Horror, because I was the stage manager in the original Rocky with ATLR. Queen said ‘I will not do this show if Billie isn’t our stage manager.’ So it really is kinda cool that our last show in Arkansas together is Rocky Horror.
BWW: What is something you do during rehearsals?
Billie: About three or four rehearsals ago, I started putting everyone’s name in a bag including the director, the stage managers, everybody, and I have them pull one name before rehearsal, like...It’s Theresa....and then Theresa comes up and everybody get the opportunity to raise their hand and tell Theresa what they love about them as a human, or what they love about them in their character work, or what they do on stage, or how they support another.
Belle: It’s nice.
Billie: I feel like it has changed the dynamic of the rehearsals.
Belle: Yes! It does.
Billie: Not Because it was ugly before...
Belle: It gives us a moment to ground ourselves with each other.
Billie: And it’s different than writing it down on a slip of paper and dropping it into a Theresa bag you know. It’s literally looking someone in their eyes and telling them what’s cool about them. So, I’m glad we are doing the last show in Arkansas together. It wasn’t intentional. We didn’t know...
Belle: This would be our last show.
BWW: Ok Billie, I know what you are doing in New York (working for the New York Times!!!!), Belle, what are your plans?
Belle: That is a great question. I plan on doing everything. In the real world, I do film, photography, things like that from a marketing perspective. That’s what my degree is in, commercials, things like that. I’m just going to see what works out for me. I have people there already that do the things that I want to do, so I’m going to see what they have going on when I get there.
Billie: And what a better city to just find yourself in.
Belle: I’m 23, and I want to try things. If there is an audition that looks interesting, I want to see what happens. I’m looking forward to it.
Billie: So, in 10 years, what would you like to be doing?
Belle: I would like to be directing full features in 10 year....premiering at Sundance, maybe.
Billie: And if not, then what?
Belle: There’s not a backup plan.
BWW: Ten years seems like a long time. Sundance by 30!
Billie: Yeah, Sundance by 30!
Billie: When people found out that I was going to New York, they thought I was following Belle, and I’m like –no, I’m living my own life.
BWW: When do you have to move?
Billie: My contract says I need to be there sometime in November. Rocky ends on the 31st, strike is the first. I would like to be moving that first or second week of November, because I want to be settled before the holidays. I still don’t have a place to live. I have movers, and I’m renting, but they said I couldn’t find anything for November until mid October. I don’t function that way. I’m also nervous about fitting in, but my boss gave me some good advice: in the first 30 days say yes to everything; the next 30, say yes to every other thing; by 90 days, choose your yeses. I’m nervous about it all, but we know a few people there already, and some Arkansas theatre kids are moving around early spring, and they are happy that there will be a mom within a train ride away.
BWW: Final thoughts as you close this Arkansas chapter?
Billie: (getting choked up) To our Central Arkansas theatre community – Keep putting the community in community theatre. We are so thankful to get to be the people that this community has helped shape us to be.
Bella: Thank you for the music. Thank you for raising me.....and be nicer to each other.
We are all going to miss these two wonderful people! If you want to catch their last performance, Rocky Horror Show runs from October 15-31 in the basement of the Quapaw United Methodist Church with Actors Theatre of Little Rock. For tickets, visit their website at https://actorstheatrelr.org.
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