The year 2020 was a pretty dark one for theater, if you can remember.
Having found her passion for theater after starring in “Matilda” at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and then playing a small part in “Billy Elliot” with Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga, my then 11-year-old daughter Libbie was severely disappointed to have her “career” cut off by the pandemic.
And while it was a small blip in what was happening in the world at large, it was a big thing to our preteen, who didn’t get to finish her fifth-grade year.
My daughter took a few classes via Outschool, which helped, but we were utterly delighted when we saw Christian Family Theater (CFT) — the place we had originally seen “Matilda Jr.” produced — was holding auditions for a “Zoomsical.” The production would be entirely filmed in the kids’ own homes, allowing them to stay apart but be together and perform for an audience safely. Libbie was cast as Jennifer Mobley in “The Big One-Oh” Zoomsical, and went on to be in one more of the four Zoom theater productions CFT did during what would have been their 2020-2021 season.
For these young actors, it was absolutely a godsend in terms of community, expressing their artistic sides, and hanging on to some sense of normalcy during tumultuous times.
In summer 2021, I helped move costumes, props, scenery, and audio equipment for CFT after they were asked to leave their space at Brainerd United Methodist Church to make way for changing church programming. We caravaned along and crammed it into new spaces at Wesley Memorial Methodist Church on East Brainerd Road, where they have been rehearsing and performing since then.
During that time, CFT has become a home away from home for my daughter, nurturing her love for theater, allowing her to participate behind the scenes doing sound and stage management, and bringing her many close friendships.
This summer, Wesley Memorial decided to sell the building and find a smaller space, leaving the groups who meet there (Boys Scout of America and a dance group, along with CFT) unsure how to proceed. The theater would like to stay in the East Brainerd area, because founder Dale Dye feels that the Theatre Centre works downtown with school-aged actors.
What he would really like to see is an arts space for kids on Chattanooga’s east side.
Consider the Mountain Arts Community Center on Signal Mountain. This space has a theater, classroom space, and meeting rooms. Individuals can come here and take classes in dance, pottery, painting, piano, yoga, and percussion; see performances from Mountain Arts Theater and the Signal Mountain Playhouse; record in the studio; or come to a meeting of the town council.
“Chattanooga is very rich in talented, experienced, and innovative teaching artists in the performing arts,” said Vincent Oakes, the director of the Chattanooga Boys Choir – who performs at various locations and rehearses at Second Presbyterian Church downtown. “What we lack throughout our community, however, is abundant creative space to effectively and consistently craft and deliver these experiences, especially for children.”
Local teacher and performer Neshawn Calloway, the music director for CFT’s current production, added, “Chattanooga has too many arts organizations in the city for there to be no dedicated performing arts space. We are grateful to Rise Chattanooga for allowing the community to come in and use their space, but it’s not suited as a rehearsal space for theater and choral groups. We are grateful to the churches that allow us to use their spaces, but there needs to be a fixed permanent home for such groups.”
Chattanooga is certainly not lacking space for new buildings or old spaces ready to be reimagined. Calloway explained, “Every time I look up there are new condos being built. There has to be someone in this city with a love of the arts that is willing to help these non-profit groups acquire a space.”
Dye would love to see a space like the Mountain Arts Community Center exist on the other side of the county, a space to allow his children’s theater to grow and serve twice as many kids in the area.
“Right now, we’re limited by our rehearsal space,” Dye said at a recent meeting about the Wesley building issue. “We would love to have two rehearsal rooms with dance space so we could be doing twice the number of shows.”
Finances prevent CFT and most community groups from having their own space.
Oakes added, “Given the nature of non-profit arts organizations, we rely on the generosity of community partners to help make these opportunities accessible and to keep things like participation fees and audience admissions as low as possible.”
While donations from parents help keep costs down a little, CFT just doesn’t have the funds to purchase or rent a space of their own with the stage and storage they need. Grants and fundraising have helped them grow their program to this point, but right now the future is looking a little bleak for CFT, whose motto is “because theater is about family.”
Libbie, now 15, says she would “feel like a part of her was missing” if CFT was forced to shut down.
Lillian Anderson, 13, chimed in, “CFT is more than a building or place, it’s family. It’s a home. With CFT I learn new things, laugh with new people, and build upon my theater knowledge and the relationships I’ve created there. It’s given me opportunities that I couldn’t have come to on my own.”
The theater is hoping to fit in one more show in their current location — “Something Rotten Jr.” — before the building is sold and they are asked to vacate their space.
Vincent Oakes put it quite eloquently when he said, “Performing arts venues may seem peculiar – stages, rehearsal spaces, and audience accommodations don’t always fit the traditional business floor plan model, and they often require a great deal of flexibility, open areas, or other specific needs. However, these spaces are made infinitely more special when filled with the talented artistry and boundless creativity of children.”
Newshawn Calloway, in her firm manner, urged locals, “We all know how valuable the arts are to our youth, so let’s put our money where our mouth is and support such groups as Christian Family Theater and help them acquire a permanent home.”
I’d love to see a permanent arts space for our area’s kids to learn, paint, dance, grow, act, sing, create, and thrive.
