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The Earl Hamner Theater

By: Peter Coy

Who are we? : The Earl Hamner Theater, a non-profit project of the Rockfish Valley Community Center.
Peter Coy, co-artistic director; Boomie Pedersen, co-artistic director & managing director.

What is our mission? : To offer a performing arts venue in Nelson County and to create a theater open to and reaching out to all residents of Nelson and its surroundings.

The inspiration for creating the theater:
We have dedicated this theater to one of Nelson County’s most famous residents, Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of THE WALTONS, the long-running and award-winning TV series. We did this to express our thanks for the contribution he has made to the county in telling the timeless story of his family’s life during the Depression here. The association with Earl Hamner,Jr. is giving the theater important visibility in the county.

What is the need for a theater in Nelson County?
Until now there has been no theater space in Nelson County devoted to the performing arts. It seems clear from the response to our first offerings that the theater is filling a need both for the participants and for the audiences.

Nelson County is a rural county in central Virginia that has a diverse population of about 14,000. There is a rich vein of artistic talent here. Professionals and amateurs from many of the arts – potters, classical musicians, bluegrass and rock bands, traditional Irish fiddlers and dancers, actors, painters, sculptors, poets, novelists, playwrights, songwriters, set and lighting designers for the stage, film makers, and more – are living in the county. We have assembled a core group of organizers who, in addition to being involved in every aspect of the theater themselves, will start the process of training.

We are actively planning training programs for adults, teens, elementary school children in all aspects of theater production: acting, directing, improvisation, technical theater, lighting and set design, and playwriting. We have the personnel and the facilities. We are working with the high school to find interested and motivated teens. Earl Hamner has offered to fund a program to develop young writers in the county.

Having a theater space of our own gives focus to everyone involved, those creating the performance and those in the audience. The theater itself creates a desire to reach and maintain a standard of solid work. It creates loyalty in the audience because they feel the theater belongs to them as much as to the performers. It creates an atmosphere of familiarity and permanence. This is Nelson County’s theater.

What exactly does the Hamner Theater look like? It is an intimate and flexible theater, created in a 26’ by 42’, handicapped-accessible, former elementary-school classroom. Forty-nine seats are on risers that can be configured in the way that is best for each particular production. A lighting grid with dimmer packs is permanently attached to the ceiling. The lobby and the dressing room are in adjacent classrooms.

What are our plans for the future? Starting in 2007 we are planning to produce five plays each year. In addition, the space will be a venue for music, dance performances, storytelling nights, and film clubs. We also intend to create a series of evening events where Virginia writers will read from their new work. Because this is the only theater in the county besides the high school auditorium, we want to fill it with a variety of shows that appeal to as many different county residents as possible.

Plays for 2005-2006 are: CARRIE ROSE, a love story from Nelson County (March); STORY THEATER, by Paul Sills, a magical romp through the stories of the Brothers Grimm (May); THE TWILIGHT ZONE SCRIPTS, of Earl Hamner, Earl’s tales of the bizarre from the famed TV series (September); THE HOMECOMING, by Earl Hamner, the return of the Christmas classic (December).

Last summer, we organized the first annual Earl Hamner Playwrights Conference. We brought together eight playwrights with directors, dramaturgs, and a company of actors. For three weeks they were in residence in Nelson County,working in workshops and rehearsals to recreate the play. At the end of the conference each play was given a staged reading open to the public.

One element of future Playwrights Conferences will be a three-week teen workshop in which a company of teenaged actors will develop a theater piece under the guidance of a professional playwright and director. This work will also be performed at the end of the conference.

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