Last week,

The Citizen told you about plans for the building of a county arts center

in Peachtree City.

Since the article

ran, members of the community have responded wanting to know more about

the theater and how they can help.

"It has

been amazing," said Joan Velsmid, president of Fayette Players and

Community Theatre Inc. and cochairman of the theater that will be known

as Warehouse Playhouse 74. "I have had so many people call and ask,

'How can I help make this a reality?'" Velsmid added that the theater

needs experts in their fields to put their knowledge to use.

Warehouse Playhouse

74 will feature performances from all local arts groups, such as Offshoot

Productions, Georgia Academy of Dance, Georgia Youth Ballet and Fayette

Coweta Family Theatre. On top of the theatrical performances, the play

house will provide space for art shows, lectures, concerts, ceremonies

and more. It will also be a place for classes and book clubs of all reading

levels to meet.

Six classrooms

have been added to the original plan and, if enough funds are raised,

10 more classrooms for art and music instruction will be added.

The theater

will need financial help as well as volunteers for the fund-raising campaign

and when the theater is open. Currently, the fund-raising efforts are

focusing on reaching a goal of $500,000 by the end of March, which is

when building is set to begin.

The committee

is seeking in kind donations from local businesses and meeting with civic

organizations and arts groups before opening the public phase of fund-raising

"We don't

feel that it is the responsibility of the government to provide funds

for the theater," said Cochairman Dennis Glenn. "We don't want

those kinds of strings attached." Warehouse Playhouse 74 is seeking

grants from corporations that would fund programs at the theater.

Some people

have asked why the theater will be built in a warehouse. The reasons,

said both Velsmid and Glenn, had to do with affordability and accessibility.

"We wanted it to be something new and not something that had to be

retrofitted and renovated," said Velsmid. Glenn added that the theater,

off Ga. Highway 74 between the new Peachtree City Police station and Crosstown

Drive, is in a great part of town that is safe and very accessible to

people in the area.

Both Glenn

and Velsmid are excited about the synergy of the arts groups. "The

groups will still do their own productions but bringing all of the groups

together and seeing what they produce should be amazing," remarked

Velsmid.

Warehouse Playhouse

74 will be a theater funded by the arts community for the arts community

and there will be many opportunities for people to get involved in the

project in the coming months. It is hoped that the theater will be ready

in the fall and that the first show will be Fayette Players and Community

Theatre Inc's production of "Miracle on 34th Street."

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