As

evidenced by last week's Weekend section, fall can be

considered festival season, but it also can be considered

theater season as many local theater groups are launching

big things for the last season of the century.

There is a

plethora of talent involved in local theater and as the

region continues to grow, the theater scene will grow as

well.

Fayette

Community Theater has a busy fall ahead as the group will

present "Mother Goose's Fairyland Follies" as

well as conducting classes throughout the rest of the

year. "Mother Goose's Fairyland Follies" tells

the farcical tale of what happens to your favorite fairy

tale and nursery rhyme characters after being all jumbled

up. The play will be performed at Peachtree City

Elementary School Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 22-24. Call Tammy

at 770-599-0051.

Fayette

Community Theater also will offer a class at the

Peachtree City library this Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1

p.m. The class is called "Let's Create a Day at the

Circus." The workshop includes aspects of

storytelling, drama and arts and crafts and is open to

children 5-8. The cost is $30. For information, call

770-251-7611.

Another

local theater group that is always keeping busy is

Offshoot Productions. The group will host its first Stars

on the Southern Crescent coffeehouse of the season this

Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. The coffeehouse will

feature local humor columnist/comedian/musician Billy

Murphy, storyteller Barbara Bagriani, singer Selene

McCarthy and a spoken word performance from Chris Snell

and Collin Kelly. Also, Offshoot will have auditions in

November for two plays, "Scotland Road" and

"Beanie and the Bamboozling Book Machine." The

audition dates have not been set yet.

Workshops

also will be offered for people of all ages. There are

two workshops scheduled for children 6-10 Oct. 9 and 17.

The first workshop is called Stage Basics for the Young

Performer, giving the young actor the who, what and where

of acting through improvisation and theater games. The

second one is called Learning how to Create a Character.

The participants will create memorable characters through

unscripted scenes. Both classes will be 2 - 4 p.m. at the

Peachtree City library at a cost of $12 per class.

The next

two sets of classes will be Nov. 6 and 7 and Dec. 4 and

5. The November classes are called Developing Characters

through Improvisation and Voice and Movement. They will

be offered for children 11-15 and will cost $18 per

class. The Saturday class runs 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. and the

Sunday class runs 3 - 6 p.m. The classes will be at the

Peachtree City Library.

The

December classes are for ages 15 and up. They are called

Comic Improv I and Comic Improv II. Comic Improv I runs

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, while Comic Improv II runs 2

- 5 p.m. Sunday. Each workshop costs $18. For information

on Offshoot Productions, call 770-631-2362 or e-mail to

[email protected]

There are

also some good theater groups in neighboring counties.

The Southside Theater Guild in Fairburn has been around

the longest. For 27 years, the group, entirely staffed by

volunteers, has performed musicals as well as classic

works of comedy and drama. They will perform "On

Golden Pond" this weekend and next at 8 p.m.

Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for children.

STG also

will have auditions for a production of "One Flew

Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at the theater tonight at

7:30 p.m. The group is seeking six adult females and 20

adult males. The show will be performed the last two

weekends in November and the first weekend in December.

If you are interested in auditioning or helping out the

production in a technical capacity, call 770-969-0956.

The

largest, at least once the move into a new complex is

completed, is the Newnan Community Theater. The complex,

expected to be habitable by early next year, is made up

of three buildings and has about 25,000 square feet of

space. That is bigger than some of the larger complexes

in Atlanta. After the building is ready, the theater will

have a children's theater with performances and workshops

specifically for children.

There also

will be adult acting and scenery classes and many other

programs as the possibilities are endless. There will be

a full season in 2000, including five main company

productions, the continuation of the troup's murder

mystery series, and much, much more.

Known for

taking chances and staging some brilliant pieces of

modern theater, NCT will once again stage a relatively

new play in October. The play, "Picasso at the Lapin

Agile," was written by comedian Steve Martin. The

show deals with Picasso and Einstein, both in their 20s,

discussing many things at an art museum in Paris. The

show will run Oct. 8 - 23 on Fridays, Saturdays and

Sundays. The Friday and Satuday shows begin at 8 p.m. and

at 2:30 p.m. Sundays.

In

December, NCT will once again stage "A Christmas

Carol," which is cast with many non-professional

people from the area. Auditions will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct.

18 and 19. The show will run Dec. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19

and 20 in the new complex. For information about the

Newnan Community Group, call 770-251-4848.

That should

give you just a taste of what is headed to the local

stages this fall, and that excluded everything that will

happen in Atlanta. Keep your eyes peeled and your mind

open and you will be pleasantly surprised with what can

be offered to you in the way of theater.

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