Group looks to renovate Historic Crawford School, expand its reach
In 1995, Sonja Roach stood behind a curtain in the Oglethorpe County High School cafeteria, waiting to take the stage as an Irish mother in Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” with Oglethorpe Community Theater.
This weekend, Roach is returning to the stage for the finale of the 30th anniversary season of now-named Arts!Oglethorpe. This time, she’s alongside her son and husband performing “Shrek the Musical” at the Historic Crawford School.
“We went from cobbling together on a high school lunchroom stage to being in this great historic building,” the Oglethorpe County native said.
Arts!Oglethorpe, the county’s nonprofit community theatre company, has offered stage opportunities for performers of all ages and backgrounds for the past three decades.
“We've got people who are in all different walks of life, all different experiences, and they all come together, and they just create magic,” said Penny Miller, a director and former performer.
Despite modest beginnings, the organization grew steadily, drawing actors from neighboring counties and fostering a loyal base of performers and patrons. Today, Arts!Oglethorpe offers several productions annually, ranging from musicals to dramatic plays.
“If we look back at our first show, we didn't even have everybody at the dress rehearsal,” said Bly Hartley, one of the founding members and longtime director. “Our first performance was opening night with everybody there, so some of our earlier shows were a little primitive.”
The group’s growth has been sustained by core volunteers, supporters and performers. Leslie Whitehead-O’Neal, a Winterville native who started performing with Arts!Oglethorpe in 2019, credits that network for keeping the organization alive.
“We have so many patrons who are so loyal to our program and to our company that show up and attend our shows for every performance,” Whitehead-O’Neal said. “They are such a tremendous part of the energy that is projected each and every time we do a performance.”
As the theatre group’s repertoire grew, the Arts!Oglethorpe’s homebase changed as well.
The organization has operated out of the Historic Crawford School for the past two decades. The building, once an elementary school with four classrooms and a full auditorium, was purchased by Ralph Maxwell, Jr. in 1996 and later deeded to Arts!Oglethorpe in 2006, according to the group’s website.
“We've been performing there for 20 years this year, and that's given us an opportunity to do a lot more without having to borrow space from people,” Hartley said. “The building itself is a burden, but a blessing.”
The organization’s volunteers have worked gradually to restore the building while continuing to stage a regular slate of productions. Past renovations have allowed two of the four classrooms to be converted into a stage and audience seating.
For their 30th anniversary, Arts!Oglethorpe hopes to raise $30,000 as part of their 30 for 30 campaign to kickstart renovations to the west-facing side, which houses a workroom for set building and a green room for performers in the other two classrooms.
The long-term goal is to restore the full upstairs auditorium, which remains mostly as a storage space.
“The upstairs is a stage, and it has a beautiful sloping floor. It has a high ceiling, and it's just a gorgeous room,” Miller said. “Ultimately, the goal is to move the stage area and the audience area (upstairs). It just doubles the seating capacity. It has so much potential to do bigger shows, but it's not ready.”
The organization also hopes to engage younger performers through increased youth programming and stronger connections with local schools, where theatre opportunities are limited.
“We'd like to have more younger people get involved and kind of, you know, grow up in the theater,” Miller said.
As Arts!Oglethorpe marks three decades, its members see both progress made and work ahead.
“All the people who were there at the beginning had the vision for making it be what (it is now), and it just continues to evolve and grow,” Roach said. “As new people come, they put their own spin on things and contribute so much, and it's just been such a dynamic transformation.
See the Show
Arts!Oglethorpe’s production of “Shrek The Musical” will be June 20-22 and June 26-28 at the Historic Crawford School (325 Park Avenue). Tickets are $20. Show times are 7:30 p.m. June 20-21 and 26-28, and 3 p.m. June 22. For more information, go to artsoglethorpe.org/2025/shrek.