BY ELLA BURROWS
Hays Community Theatre’s schedule of upcoming events and performances includes a bit of everything. Whether people are into classic Shakespeare or modern-day adaptations, they are sure to be entertained by the HCT this spring and summer as the theatre begins transitioning to normal, post-COVID programming.
HCT Board President Travis Grizzell is proud of the schedule and how HCT has responded and overcame the many challenges the pandemic posed. The theatre was hit hard by the pandemic and was even forced to close its doors for a period.
“COVID took away our programming,” Grizzell said. “The nature of theatre forces you to interact with each other so we had to, A, shut down, and B, reassess, which led us to C, innovate and find new ways to connect with our audiences.”
Fortunately, HCT received several grants that allowed it to transition from in-person shows to a streaming format. Although the transition posed many challenges, streaming performances allowed the theatre to reach a wider audience that could include families of cast members, community members and viewers from around the country and world.
The theatre is excited to be back to in-person programming with Drag Show being its next large-scale event at 8 p.m. March 26.
Although the community of Hays has had previous drag shows, this will be the first time a drag event has been hosted recently. HCT is bringing back the show in hopes of reaching underserved audiences within the community.
Sophia Garrison, a Hays community resident and member of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance on campus, said the event is a step in the right direction for everyone in the community of Hays and surrounding areas and helps demonstrate Hays’ commitment to embracing the culture of the often underserved LGBTQ+ community.
“Drag is all about the freedom to express yourself through the art of gender,” Garrison said. “Midwestern LGBTQ+ communities are often cheated out of an opportunity to express themselves at an event that is safe and comfortable for them, let alone where they are celebrated.”
HCT is currently accepting participants for the Drag Show contest. Applications and additional information can be found on the theatre’s website, https://www.hctks.com/.
In addition to the Drag Show, the theatre will be performing an 80’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on April 29 and 30 and May 1. The production will feature 15 cast members.
HCT chose that play in particular because Hays does not host a “Shakespeare in the Park” event and because “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is easily adaptable for theatres that allowed them to put an 80’s twist on a classic Shakespearean play.
The group also will perform “Wizard of Oz,” which it has never done previously. Those show dates will be July 28 to 30 in Fort Hays State University’s Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
As HCT continues and begins preparing for the events, it will be in need of volunteers with any and all skillsets.
“People have this perception that they couldn’t be on stage so they can’t volunteer,” Grizzell said. “But there is so much more to the theatre than just the performance.”
Grizzell said regardless of theatrical ability, Hays Community Theatre encourages anyone to volunteer and encourages everyone to check out what the theatre has to offer in the coming months.