Archived Players Notes
Players Note from Sandi Belcher

This story, submitted by the former President of the WP Sandi Belcher, truly shows the spirit and energy that goes into the WP.

On Being a Player

I first became involved with the Players while still in high school in 1977.  I played the role of Essie in “You Can’t Take it With You”.  It was directed by Emeritus Board member Alice Flora and starred our recently passed and beloved Player (and Emeritus Board member) Don Putnam.  Mrs. Flora, as I called her, was my drama teacher at Waynesboro High School and she urged me to audition.  What a thrill it was to be in a “grown-up” production with such amazing talent.  A couple of years later, I was cast in “Bus Stop” with Emeritus Board member Duane Hahn (who was also one of my drama teachers in high school) and, again, that dear, dear Don Putnam.  Most of my scenes were with Don, and he taught me so much about the subtleties of acting.  There was nothing “over the top” with Don, and I learned early on that many times “less is more”.  What a wonderful way to start in theater!  Both Alice Flora and Duane Hahn were huge influences in my life.  They are truly responsible for my introduction and love of the theater. 

I left the area soon after “Bus Stop” and lived elsewhere for 15 years.  Within a couple of months of my return to Waynesboro, I auditioned for and was lucky enough to be cast in “1940’s Radio Hour”.  I’ve been actively involved with the Waynesboro Players ever since. 

I love to perform in theater!  It is such a fulfilling and creative outlet and so much fun.  Returning to the Valley as an adult, it began to occur to me just how much hard work goes into putting on these productions.  I wanted to do my part, and started to help out behind the scenes as much as I could.  This led to becoming a Board member in 2000, and then on to being President from 2001 - 2004.  It is so rewarding to come together with a group of people as a team with a common goal and have that goal realized!  My work with the Players is among the most gratifying in my life. 

One of the shows I am the most proud to have been a part of is “Sunday in the Park with George”, which the Players put on in the fall of 2000.  It is a musical by Stephen Sondheim based on the famous painting called “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat.  I first fell in love with the show when I acted in it in Tidewater, Virginia in 1988.  It simply worked its way into my heart and lived there, letting me know that somehow, someday I’d find the opportunity to bring my vision of this show to life somewhere.  I brought my pitch for this show to the Players having had no experience as a director before.  I continue to marvel at the faith this group had in me, as green as I was, that they would allow me to undertake a show of this depth and scope.  It was a tremendous amount of work, but it was the most rewarding work of my life to date.  There are simply no words to describe the feeling when the curtain goes up for the first time and your vision begins to unfold on the stage in front of you.  The colors!  The music!  The talent of the cast and crew!  The emotion springs forth even now with the memory of that production, and I have the Players to thank for allowing me to realize a dream that I’d carried in my heart for some twelve years.

An amusing memory I have of my work with the Players was during our dinner theater production of “Swingtime Canteen” in which I served as director and actor in the fall of 2002.  I was one in the trio of the “Andrew Sisters Medley”.  We had choreographed movements to go with the singing, and one night the battery pack for my microphone came loose from where I had it clipped underneath my clothes and began to swing like a pendulum in front of me down around my ankles.  I didn’t know what to do other than to carry on and pretend like it wasn’t bumping my legs every time I swayed to and fro.  The other two girls in the trio, Sarah Fauber and Jennifer Kirkland, began to wonder why my movements suddenly became very, very small!  I somehow made it through the number and, red-faced, raced offstage to fix the problem.  You must be prepared for most anything to happen when you are doing live theater!

Amateur live theater provides a valuable service to the community that supports it.  And while it is true that we in community theater do this because of what we can get out of it on a personal front, it is also important to note that a great deal of the reward comes from what we are able to give.  To touch people’s hearts through laughter, tears, music, and song is a joy we cherish.  And the applause we receive at the end of the show is like Christmas in July.  It seems like a pretty fair trade.  I am proud to be a Waynesboro Player!