Greg Smith as Miss Fleeta Mae Bryte. Photo provided by The Drama Workshop.
Cheviot, OH) The Drama Workshop, the award-winning community theatre based at The Glenmore Playhouse in Cheviot, opens its 2014-2015 season with the Cincinnati premiere of the hilarious one-woman-played-by-one-man comedy, PRECIOUS HEART. Proceeds from this special 6-performance production will go towards constructing a new handicap accessible ramp for The Glenmore Playhouse.
Performances run from July 25 through August 3. Show times are 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 2 pm on Sunday. Tickets are $15, and may be ordered through the 24-hour ticket line at 513.598.8303, or online through the TDW website at www.thedramaworkshop.org.
PRECIOUS HEART is written by Ted Karber, Jr, and directed by Blake Senseman. Miss Fleeta Mae Bryte is a solid, ordinary looking country woman in her mid-sixties who lives life to the fullest in a small town in southwest Texas. She will welcome you to her home, make you a cup of coffee and share stories and memories of her past, her family, her friends, and her enemies and her dreams of the future. Fleeta Mae is the type of woman you would expect to find in any small town in America. Her charm rests in her ability to tell a story, her bustling good nature, her sense of humor, and her old world notions of life in general.
Greg Smith has played Fleeta Mae in multiple venues in Southwest Ohio over the last several years, since originating the role with Dayton Theatre Guild in 2010 where it received critical and popular acclaim, and was one of the top productions at the 2010 Ohio Community Theatre Association annual conference. “I fell in love with Miss Bryte about twenty-five years ago,” he relates, ”when the play was submitted to the play festival at the Dayton Playhouse. Perhaps because we are fellow Texans and because I have my own odd set of relatives, friends and enemies, I felt an immediate kinship.”
The normally ebullient Smith then turns thoughtful. “As an actor, this role has been an amazing experience. Getting to take the stage for almost two hours, tell wonderful stories and secrets, laugh a little and cry a little while speaking directly to the audience….it just doesn’t get much better,” he recounted. “I hope the audiences of The Drama Workshop will enjoy their trip to Precious Heart as much as I have enjoyed mine.”
The Drama Workshop is hopeful that strong community attendance for this production will enable them to finally install a handicap access ramp and entrance, which has been a major goal for the theatre group since it purchased the building in 2011. “We want to entertain the entire community, including those with mobility issues,” offered TDW Box Office Chair Gretchen Gantner. “Right now if a patron cannot climb the three steps into the building, they cannot see our shows. Having the new ADA ramp will mean that we can open our shows up to a wider audience, which is our end goal.”
If sufficient funds are raised, it is hoped that the new ramp and entrance doors can be installed prior to the next TDW production, September’s “Arsenic and Old Lace”.
The Drama Workshop was founded in 1954. TDW is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to advancing education and promotion of the theatrical arts. The Drama Workshop is widely recognized as one of greater Cincinnati’s most accomplished community theater organizations, garnering dozens of awards annually from the Association of Community Theatres of Greater Cincinnati.
TDW productions have been selected to represent the Southwest Ohio region at the Ohio Community Theatre Association annual conference eight of the last ten years, and will present an excerpt of last season’s “Nunsense” at the 2014 state conference this year. TDW was also honored to represent the state of Ohio at the American Association of Community Theatre regional conference in 2013. The Drama Workshop was recognized in 2013 by the Cincinnati Preservation Association for their efforts to rehabilitate the former Glenmore Bowl into The Glenmore Playhouse.
Prospective members, and individuals or businesses interested in becoming involved or in helping advance TDW’s mission are encouraged to contact the group through our website at www.thedramaworkshop.org, or by phone at 513-598-8303.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 