The Town Run Theater Company is a new community theater ensemble that will make its home at the Shepherdstown Opera House. The name of the company pays homage to the beloved waterway that flows through the historic town.
Led by Artistic Director Joe Yates, the Town Run Theater Company will draw upon the immense talent pool in our region to bring plays to life in Shepherdstown. Yates himself brings 30 years’ experience in the local artistic community, as an actor, director, producer and consultant – most recently in the historic drama The Rivalry. “One of the first things my wife Beth and I did as a young married couple was to tour the Opera House, then vacant and in serious disrepair, and dream of producing plays there. I am thrilled for the opportunity to use the now-updated theater to create quality community productions.”
Joining Yates as founding members of the Town Run Theater Company are Homer Speaker, Emily Wanger, Sarah Ward, and Richard Yates. “Homer and I have worked together for decades on various shows, and there is no one I respect more as a person or as an artist. I’ve known Emily for decades as well, and only recently convinced her to move from the ballet stage to the theater, and she has been amazing in each role she has undertaken. Sarah is new to the stage but showed remarkable artistic honesty in each meeting we have had, and I’m thrilled to see her rapid growth with every rehearsal. Richard is my son and took to the stage from an early age with great ease, acting in virtually every show I’ve produced over the past 10 years or so.”
The Town Run Theater Company’s first production will be “Bleeding Kansas” by Kathryn Walat. The powerful drama is set in the Kansas territory in 1855-56, where George and Kitty Clarke have set out to start a new life as farmers. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed settlers in the new territory of Kansas to vote to determine if the new state would be slave or free. As voter fraud turned into violence, the threat of bloodshed became all too real to even those who wanted no part of the issue.
Yates recently produced and acted in “The Anvil – The Trial of John Brown” at the Charles Town Courthouse and “The Rivalry” in Shepherdstown, both of which earned rave reviews and capacity audiences. He considers “Bleeding Kansas” to be the third in this series of historical dramas with a message that is relevant today. Said Yates, “Bleeding Kansas asks the question, what will you do when conflict is at your door? As Americans in 2025, it’s a question we all need to take a hard look at.”
Bleeding Kansas will be presented at the Shepherdstown Opera House in May. Details and ticket purchase at OperaHouseLive.com.
By Staff Contributor