ABOUT CENTER STAGE THEATRE
A HISTORY OF CENTER STAGE THEATRE
Center Stage Theatre has been entertaining patrons of Wayne County, North Carolina and beyond for much longer than many people realize. Center Stage Theatre (known as CST) has been around since 1978, before that there were two theatre groups called “Seygold" and Goldwayne”. These groups performed such plays as Ten Little Indians, Born Yesterday, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and Play it Again Sam. In August of 1978 these groups officially merged into the new group now known as Center Stage Theatre. CST’s first President was Roger Wicker and the first meeting included charter members Sean Norris and Ron Taylor. Ron Taylor later became CST president in 1979. The first play performed by the newly established group was Mr. Scrooge in December of 1978.
Luckily for CST, the City of Goldsboro’s Parks and Recreation department opened Herman Park Center in 1979. This would become home to all the plays, rehearsals, and meetings for the group.
In 1982 the first Herman Awards Banquet was created and is a tradition that lives on today. Awards for actors, backstage crew, directors, etc. are voted on annually by season ticket holders and members. One night a year, CST puts together a banquet to hand out the Herman Awards to the winners. One might relate it to a mini Oscar night!
In 1993, the Paramount Theatre in Downtown Goldsboro, originally built in 1882, was opened as a performing arts theatre and CST’s first production in the renovated theatre was Kiss Me Kate in 1994. From then on, musicals were performed at the Paramount and smaller dramas and comedies continued to be performed at Herman Park Center.
In 1999, CST celebrated its 20th anniversary with a season consisting of Give my Regards to Broadway, Play On, Into the Woods, and The Diary of Anne Frank. The following season included special productions and was entitled “The Best of the First 20 Years”. During that season, CST produced all-time favorites such as The King and I, Steel Magnolias, Arsenic and Old Lace, and the forever classic West Side Story.
CST achieved 501(c)3 Non-Profit status in 2006. This, in addition to being an affiliate of the Arts Council of Wayne County, helps CST raise the funds to produce an excellent season of shows every year as every donation to CST is fully tax deductible.
In February of 2005, Center Stage Theatre and Goldsboro community suffered a great loss with a devastating fire that destroyed the Paramount Theatre. CST, along with other local performing arts groups, scrambled to once again find a venue to perform high quality shows. Thankfully, after 3 short years, the newly rebuilt Paramount Theatre opened on February 15th, 2008, bigger and better than ever. CST enjoyed its first performance in the new building in April of 2008 with I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, a hilarious musical comedy.
Sadly, beginning in 2009, CST lost the complimentary use of Herman Park Center due to a restructuring of rental rates. CST had used the Center free of charge for meetings and rehearsals for over 30 wonderful years. For more than a year following that, rehearsals and meetings were held in the businesses, homes and churches of generous CST members to cut costs.
CST returned in strength to the Paramount in December of 2009 with the Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, which is now an annual Holiday tradition every December at the Paramount; a perfect tribute to CST’s very first production, Mr. Scrooge. CST also now provides annual school synopsis performances of A Christmas Carol and select other productions specifically for Wayne County Schools at a low cost to help provide enrichment and education to the students.
In February of 2010, an agreement between CST and The Foundation of Wayne Community College was made where tickets are donated to students and staff of the college in exchange for space for meetings and rehearsals. This took the stress off many members who donated the use of their various spaces to CST after losing the use of Herman Park Center.
Center Stage Theatre is a wonderful community theatre with a great sense of togetherness. Parents often watch their children grow up on stage, and those new to the area often find the group an excellent way to meet new friends with similar interests. Auditions are always free and open to anyone interested in the community and membership is an annual option for a small fee. Meetings for membership are normally held the first Monday of every month at Wayne Community College. Seasons of shows are selected by members and then brought to our patrons every year. We enjoy feedback from our patrons and always invite all to engage in the fun of our community theatre. Tickets are available at each individual show or annually as a season ticket. Many years of enjoyable hard work have gone into the success of CST and we hope to continue this wonderful tradition for many years to come. As they say…… “the show must go on” and “break a leg!”
