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Actor's Theatre Of Charlotte Has A New Stage To Call Home

Actor's Theatre of Charlotte

Actor's Theatre of Charlotte has found a permanent home. After a promising location fell through in Charlotte’s Belmont neighborhood, the theater has been scrambling to find a solid venue for months. WFAE’s Sarah Delia has the details.

The i’s have been dotted and the t’s have been crossed on a new lease on life for Actor's Theatre of Charlotte. The theater's new address is 2219 Freedom Drive, not far from the Wesley Heights neighborhood.

The space owned by Stuart Owens formerly housed Paradox Films and Digital. Artistic Director Chip Decker says they knew from the moment they stepped inside it would be a good fit.

"If there was ever a location and a building in Charlotte that just said ‘hey I should be a theater,’ this is it," said Decker.

To start, the theater will accommodate an audience of about 160 (the old space seated 200). Although that’s a slightly smaller amount than they are used to seating, the space is largely ready. Decker says, there is some work still to be done, but not like the undertaking the group would have endured in the Belmont location.

"It would have been a two year hiatus where we weren’t generating any revenue or putting on any shows. And that can mean easily the death of a theater company waiting that long," said Decker

For the moment, Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte can breathe a sigh of relief. Not for too long, though. They’re already rehearsing for their first production….a musical called The Toxic Avenger which should be ready for a live audience later this fall.

Sarah Delia is a Senior Producer for Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, New York, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.