Interview: Mill Town Players Executive Artistic Director Will Ragland Opens Two Shows in One Weekend
July 22 sees the opening of LOST HIGHWAY in Pelzer and CHILDREN OF EDEN in Mill Town's new SImpsonville space
By: Neil Shurley Jul. 12, 2022
Mill Town Players are having a big weekend.
On July 22, their most recent season concludes with a production of Hank Williams: LOST HIGHWAY in their home space, the historic Pelzer Auditorium.
But July 22 also sees the opening of a brand new season at their new second location, the Simpsonville Arts Center. For their premiere production in the space, MTP presents CHILDREN OF EDEN.
It's the opening of an exciting new chapter in the history of Mill Town Players. We asked MTP's founder, Executive Artistic Director Will Ragland, to tell us more.
How did you go about choosing these two shows?
Hank Williams: LOST HIGHWAY is the last musical of our 8th season, which closes in August with a one-weekend concert called CLASSIC COUNTRY. Our new 2022-23 Season in Pelzer begins in September with THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. Hank Williams: LOST HIGHWAY is a show we've been wanting to produce for a while and was originally scheduled for last summer until the ongoing pandemic forced us to postpone the show until now. Our MTP audiences have always loved shows that feature country music. We knew that with the success of our past 2 Signature Productions of ALWAYS PATSY CLINE that HANK would also be one that would resonate with our audiences. Hank Williams is such a complex and compelling musician who, through his short life, made an eternal mark on the history of American popular music.
What's the most exciting part of the Simpsonville expansion for you?
This has been in the works for some time. I am very familiar with that old building, first constructed in 1939 as Simpsonville High School. 20 years ago as a first-year teacher for Greenville County Schools, I was assigned to 3 different elementary schools as a traveling art teacher. On Tuesdays, I taught in a portable next to that building when it was Simpsonville Elementary. On Tuesday mornings I would walk through the halls of that old building at 110 Academy on my way to get my morning coffee in the cafeteria, and each time I passed the old auditorium I would pause, peek, and dream about what had been on that stage and, more importantly, what could be. Fast forward 10 years to 2012 when I worked with Wade Shealy and the Simpsonville Arts Foundation to attempt to get the auditorium ready for live performances. I even approached the city council with a proposition of starting a community theater there. When we received no response from the city, had no production equipment, air conditioning, or any seed money to launch a theater group, there was no way it could happen. I then found an opportunity in Pelzer and founded Mill Town Players in the Historic Pelzer Auditorium with a unique mission of providing quality and affordable theater to the Upstate so that anyone who wanted to see a live show could do so. Our ticket prices are still the cheapest around at $12 with $10 for seniors, military, and students. The most exciting part of this expansion is finally seeing a dream become reality, even if it took 20 years to happen. We have to give credit to Wade Shealy, the Simpsonville Arts Foundation, and the visionary leadership of the City of Simpsonville to finally make it happen. We are honored that they chose us to be the resident theater company for the space and look forward to entertaining the folks over there for a very long time.
How are the physical spaces and your approach to production similar in both theatres? How do they differ?
Since this is our first production in Simpsonville, we are having to figure out a lot of things as we go. Currently, we are building sets for both locations in Pelzer in a cafeteria kitchen that has been converted into a scene shop. There is no shop and very limited storage in Simpsonville, so this seems to be the best option for now. Our approaches to production are similar given that we work with so many guest directors, designers, technicians, and artists. We are used to working with new people with every show. The big difference is being split by 30 minutes between locations. This requires advanced planning on how to use our resources if we are sharing equipment. I'm thankful that we have a very strong team of theater artists who can handle any challenge.
You are not only running two theatres but you're also serving as the mayor of Pelzer - how do you juggle these responsibilities?
Neil, I take it day by day. I don't know that I've ever been busier in my life than I am right now. I'm the man at the circus running around spinning plates, trying not to let any of them fall. I'm thankful that MTP was able to hire 2 new full-time positions so that I'm not the only employee any more. People really have no idea how hard we work and how passionate we are about meeting our own high standards. There are times when the day calls for 18 hours of work and I just have to do it. What can I say? I have my dream jobs. I work too hard and don't make a lot of money, but I'm doing what I love.
Finally, please tell us what you're looking forward to most about each of these opening shows.
Seeing a room full of happy people whose lives are just a little bit better by the stories we've shared with them on our stage, and this time there will be TWO ROOMS!
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