Lockhart — Have you ever been ambling around in a nearby woods and most unexpectedly come upon a beautiful plant or flower? Have you ever wandered along a beach and spied the perfect sand dollar?

If you are more than 10 years old, you have had one or more experiences similar to those just described. It happened to me recently.

OK, I wasn’t in the woods, nor was I on a beach. I was on the horns of a dilemma. I was hosting a friend for an evening out and I needed something a little different than the generic movie and dinner. As luck would have it, I was “ambling” through this newspaper when I came upon an ad for a play, The Trial of Scrooge. Further examination revealed it was to be performed in Lockhart. John McEnroe’s immortal phrase, “You can’t be serious,” crossed my mind.  

Indeed, the play was in Lockhart, at the Gaslight Baker Theater. I had not been to what was once called, “Little Theater,” or “Community Theater,” etc. in a number of years. What’s to lose? After all, Lockhart is the home of Kruez’s Market, Black’s Barbecue and one of Lady Bird’s favorite court houses. Give it a shot.

It took two turns around the courthouse square to locate the Gaslight Baker Theater, about a block off the southeast corner of the square.

For a modest sum, we spent a couple hours enjoying the remarkable talents of amateur actors and actresses as they took us back in time, put a new twist on Dickens,’  A Christmas Carol, and left the audience with a new understanding of the real meaning of Christmas.

I have since had the opportunity to enjoy Moonlight and Magnolias, a play depicting the fears, doubts, reluctance, and angst of Ben Hecht, David O. Selznick, and Victor Fleming as they developed the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.  

In spite of my initial reaction, I’m here to tell you that Lockhart does, indeed, have serious theater. I was curious to know how all this happened, so I spent an hour with Terri Bennett, a board member, sometime actress, sometime director, and official PR and marketing director — in her spare time — of the Gaslight Baker Theater.

Terri began by informing me that there has been community theater in Lockhart since 1988.

“One of the neat things about Lockhart,” Terri said, “is the wonderful, rich history of people who love theater.” She went on to say, there were actually two live theaters in Lockhart.

“There was this theater, the Baker, and at the other end of Main Street, across from Black’s Barbecue, there was the Gaslight. At the end of 2007, the two merged to form the Gaslight Baker Theater. Their first season of productions as Gaslight Baker was 2008.”

The board of directors of the Baker theater group purchased the old building that housed the Baker Theater around 1993. The building could be a story in its own right. It is located at 216 South Main Street and was once a vaudeville theater, circa 1920. Later, it was a film theater, circa 1940-50. Its transformation into an intimate venue for stage productions has retained a number of reminders of its history. For example, someone left a crude drawing of the American flag on a wall backstage.

The flag has only 48 stars. There is graffitti dating to the 1940s. The original vaudeville stage has been preserved, but it has been enlarged for stage productions.

This past year, the Gaslight Baker organization has purchased the building next door. It will provide storage and rehearsal space when the main theater is in use.

Terri describes the Gaslight Baker merger as a wonderful venture for everyone.

“Audiences are growing,” she said. “We are getting a reputation for doing quality theater. Our actors take their craft seriously. They are as professional as if they were paid. We strive to do what we call regional theater.”  

Terri explained, “Our actors come from all over — Austin, Lockhart, San Marcos, Kyle and Wimberley. Our audience has become fairly widespread as well. We have people from as far away as Georgetown to the north and San Antonio from the south.”

I asked Terri about the financial and marketing operations of the theater. She replied, “I’m really an actress, but my background is in PR and marketing and I kept commenting and making suggestions and suddenly I found myself on the board and heading the committee on PR and marketing. Initially, marketing was somewhat haphazard, but we are now better organized with our ads and promotions.”

She went on to credit Janet Christian, a graphic artist, with the production of posters and the creative process of the ads.

I noted that the productions are not the usual Little Theater fare, i.e., famous Broadway shows such as South Pacific, or The King and I. Terri explained that the board attempts to select plays that are not overdone, but are somewhat familiar. Suggested scripts are submitted to the board by anyone interested. Because there are a number of people who are theater and drama majors involved with the Gaslight Baker, the scripts are given a professional evaluation and voted on by the board.

The scripts are selected on their merit. Then it is cast from the talent available. Terri made it clear that scripts are not selected based on talent available for a role.

“Our thinking is like Field of Dreams. If we put it on, the talent will come.”

For example, Terri said the Christmas 2010 production is titled Fruit Cakes. The script was suggested by Lorie Cardova who did the play in college and found it to be extremely funny.

“We like to have a diverse season — dramas, comedies, musicals — with a bit of a social consciousness, entertainment value, and touching moments that leave one with a certain feeling,” Terri said.  

The theater attempts between eight and 10 productions a year. The next production, March 12 to March 27, will be Divas, which is essentially a musical revue. Terri noted that it is a new venture for the theater. It came about as a result of aborted plans for a musical play. Divas will not be a concert; rather, it will be composed of numbers from Broadway productions with sets, action, etc. Tysha Calhoun, a classically trained musician from San Marcos, will direct Divas.  

Terri emphasized that the Gaslight Baker gets everyone involved. One may star in a play in March and do props, lighting, directing, stage management, or ticket sales for the rest of the year.

The Gaslight Baker Theater is a shining jewel, known to too few people in Central Texas and one would expect that the moving forces would be content to rest on their laurels and enjoy their delightful creation. Remarkably, such is not the case.

Plans are afoot to develop a dinner theater, using the building next door. Pending certain renovations, code approvals, and general preparations, there is talk of having it open by June of 2010. Terri expressed some reservations that the project might be complete by that date.

Given the energy, talent, enthusiasm, and professionalism I have observed among those associated with the Gaslight Baker Theater, I suggest you plan a dinner and a play in Lockhart, some time after June 1.



• bibbundewood@yahoo.com