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Community leaders, institutions, and even entire communities can inspire us to do great work ourselves. They can serve as role models, spark new ideas in us, or provide us with a place to place our energy. There are a great deal of community members and places left unsung or only recognized by a narrow population and while we can never show all of the people that deeply affect and serve their communities, we hope to shine a light on and share the stories of some of those people and places and what they mean to their community.
August 9, 2017
Submitted by: James Riley
On the edge of the National Park land of Roanoke Island, past the accurately re-created historical earthen fort, right up against the water, there is a giant and gaudy theater. It looks like a Renaissance Faire reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe mixed with a Disneyfied pioneer fort. It's palisades feature, among other things, large signs for wine and beer with a large arrow pointing the direction to concession stands just inside. The amphitheater would be more at home in a local theme park as a marquee show, a nice musical with repertory players singing about pioneer life, than a main attraction for a National Park.
When I first saw it I assumed that it was just another cheap attempt at edutainment that museums seem hellbent on these days. A sign of the waning confidence in public attention and interest in pure history. But the advertisements that showed the suspiciously ornate costumes of the players also claimed to be celebrating 80 years! I had to ask someone just what in the hell was going on.
Sue, a very nice women working in the gift shop, gave me the lowdown. As it turns out, the stage predates the National Park use of the land. It was built by the community for a local and singular use: The performance of The Lost Colony, a play written in one night by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Paul Green, about the rise and fall of the the first English colony in America. Furthermore, Sue informed me, this play has had a summer season every year since the first performance in 1937, save for four years during the war. Fire, flood, and loss of power from frost have all threatened to derail the season, yet the show, as the adage indicates, has gone on. The theater itself has been rebuilt at least twice.
The play gatherers some notoriety amongst colleges, or so I am told, for summer stock. It has been the start for many fine actors, including Chris Elliott, Leon Rippley and Andy Griffith. Andy, in fact, was so grateful to the show for giving him his start that he returned every year to announce the start of the season. He was a dear friend of Sue, who seemed genuinely choked up thinking about his death.
I must now admit, the stage itself is quite impressive. The exterior aside, the actual stage is beautiful and must be a treat to work on. It is a multi-layered and multi-leveled set evocative of a colonial village. The lighting system, from what I could tell, is exceptional for an outdoor theater. It looked like a place that one could have great fun as an actor or a member of the crew. It was neat just to stand on when the theater was empty. I can only imagine how much more exciting it is to be there with hundreds of people watching you.
It is an experience that each matriculating high school senior shares with the actors, for the use of this stage is no longer solely dedicated to the show. I was told that the community comes together every year to watch the graduation ceremony for the local high school on Waterside Theater. On an island we have to support each other, Sue told me. But this feeling of community support does not end at the water's edge. On the Outer Banks archipelago there are three high schools but there is not an abundance of roads. Therefore, each school coordinates its graduation with each other in order to minimize traffic and maximize attendance of each ceremony. People on the islands try to come out for things, Sue said, even if they are not your thing. We have to take care of each other.
For the record, I did not see the show, but I hear it is really something special.