MACON, Ga. — The crew at Theatre Macon was five days away from the opening night for their production of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" when COVID-19 hit, forcing them to suspend the show.
Since then, the nonprofit theatre has had to cancelled or postpone all of their in-person classes and performances until 2021, but that hasn't stopped them from planning for the future.
On Friday, Theatre Macon officially purchased the building at 424 Cherry Street, only one door down from their current location.
"When this building became available we felt like we had to jump on it if we ever wanted to grow and do more things and offer more programming to the community," says theatre president Richard Frazier.
Frazier says that the new building will be used for rehearsals and classes for kids and adults, with two larger practice areas and one smaller room for music classes.
They plan to have the building completely ready for use by the summer of 2021, just in time for their first Youth Artist Academy camp.
Frazier says that with the extra space they also plan to expand the range of classes they provide.
"We can offer additional classes in different types of theatre, dance, and the arts," says Frazier, "Not just for youths, but for adults to come in and get an idea of what a rehearsal looks like, or take a dance class, or take an acting class, or learn about improv."
Although Theatre Macon will have to wait before resuming their classes, performers are still bringing their voices and acting chops to virtual shows.
The theatre has already done season previews and their "Evening of Color & Light" to viewers over Facebook Live.
Currently, Theatre Macon is rehearsing for their first virtual, socially distanced concert, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder."
That show premieres September 17-20.