BECCA MARTIN-BROWN

bmartin@nwaonline.com

If you build it, they will come.

Often misquoted from “Field of Dreams,” the adage couldn’t be more apropos when describing the success of the Smokehouse Players. Thanks to arts lover Frank Sharp, a new theater space in Fayetteville was literally waiting for someone to fill it. Husband-and-wife team Tim Gilster and Terry Vaughan had retired from the bright lights of New York City and in 2018 found themselves ready for a project. And the regional community of actors, technicians and playgoers jumped in to support another company.

The result is that Smokehouse Players is announcing a two-show 2025 season — “we are very informal and usually announce one show at a time,” said Vaughan; they’re adding a Sunday matinee to each run; and since their debut with “In the Middle of Nowhere” by Kent Brown, their efforts have raised more than $85,000 for their charity of choice, Magdalene Serenity House.

Scheduled for May 1-4, “Doubt: A Parable” by John Patrick Shanley will mark Smokehouse Players’ 12th production. Directed by Juliette Robinson, the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama will feature Kate Capdeville, Mary Maxwell, Gilster and Vaughan.

“All My Sons” by Arthur Miller, the 1947 Tony Award winner for Best Author and 1947 Drama Critics Award choice for Best Play, will take the stage Nov. 13-16 under the direction of Billy Chase Goforth and will feature Lexie, Liam and Patrick Edmunds, Bryan Guarino, Amy Jones, Juliette Robinson, David Wright, Gilster and Vaughan.

“Because Smokehouse Players provides free theater to the community, we only produce award winning or notable plays,” Vaughan said. “So folks get an opportunity to experience some of the best plays ever written. This year is no exception!”

The story of the company starts when Gilster and Vaughan met in the theater department at Ole Miss. Together, they moved to New York City in 1983 “to try our luck and have an adventure.” They stayed for most of three decades, working Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, including “Why Hanna’s Shirt Won’t Stay Down” at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and in television and film. In 2011, they were able to bring their day jobs with them to Fayetteville and finally retired five years later.

“In 2017, Frank Sharp, the owner of the Ozark Mountain Smokehouse, approached us and asked if we would like to produce theater in the Chillin’ Room, which is a large walk-in refrigerator in the Smokehouse that has been converted into a unique performance space,” Vaughan picked up the story. “When we lived in New York, we did a lot of theater in unconventional spaces and knew how to produce and perform theater in an alternate space. We were thrilled at the opportunity Frank was offering us and jumped at the chance.”

Smokehouse Players was formed “with the goal of trying to pass Frank’s kindness forward by providing free theater as our gift to the community,” Vaughan continued. Their second objective was “using the platform to raise awareness and money for Magdalene Serenity House,” a nonprofit that helps rebuild the lives of women who have experienced trauma, sexual exploitation, addiction or incarceration. One hundred percent of donations received each opening night go to the nonprofit.

Seating at the Smokehouse is limited to fewer than 100, and so money raised was limited, too, Vaughan explained, until “matching donors got involved, and the numbers shot up dramatically. Last October, our ‘The Glass Menagerie’ benefit performance helped raised $14,660 for MSH with the help of 13 matching donors. To date, we have helped raise over $85,000 for them and hope to hit $100,000 by the end of next year.

“We wanted to use the opportunity Frank gave us to help change people’s concept of theater from ‘something fancy’ to bread and butter community events that are entertaining, impactful, and can be used to raise money to help others.”

As vitally, Vaughan and Gilster believe “theater heals, it transforms thinking, and it creates empathy because people get the chance to see life through the eyes of others,” Vaughan said.

___

FYI

Smokehouse Players:

2025 Season

“Doubt: A Parable” by John Patrick Shanley, 7:30 p.m. May 1-3 and 3 p.m. May 4.

“All My Sons” by Arthur Miller, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13-15 and 3 p.m. Nov. 16.

To find out more about volunteering with the company, email Vaughan at smokehouseplayers@gmail.com.