Oxford has a culture deeply rooted in the arts. Bands play in various locations throughout any given week and the Square is home to one of the many art galleries in the area. Also steeped into the culture of Oxford is the performing arts: theater.
There are four theater venues and companies in Oxford: the Lyric, Theatre Oxford, Ole Miss Theatre and Ghostlight Repertory Theatre.
Although The Lyric is not exclusive to theater, it does house a beautiful stage where many artists come to perform, hosts social gatherings and shows the ever-important Ole Miss football games.
Theatre Oxford is a community theater company. They often put up shows in the Powerhouse Community Art Center on the corner of Jackson Avenue and South 14th Street. The company has already posted its season online at theatreoxford.com along with audition information for the public. The company’s recent show, “Harvey,” ran Aug. 20 through Aug. 24. It will be followed by a Ten Minute Play Festival in October and a production of “The Christmas Carol” in December for the holidays.
Ole Miss Theatre is run by the Theatre Department at Ole Miss and headed by department chair Renee Pulliam. All four of this year’s shows can be expected to be well-done with the potential to promote audience members to fully engaged participants in the show. This fall semester Ole Miss Theatre is proud to present a show titled “We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as West Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915,” directed by David Reed. For short, the show will simply be known as “We Are Proud to Present.” The musical that will be shown first semester is “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” directed by Amanda Wansa Morgan who some may recognize from last semester’s “Marisol.”
Usually the company only puts up one musical per year, so anticipation for this year’s shows is running high among the students and faculty within the department. More information about show times can be found at theatre.olemiss.edu.
Last but certainly not least is the student-run theater company known as Ghostlight Repertory Theatre. This year the new artistic director, student Rachel Whitehorn, is excited to present quality shows produced and performed by students for other students to enjoy.
One of the student directors, Zach Duane agreed with Whitehorn.
“It’s really a chance for us to show what we can do,” Duane said.
He is currently deep in preparation to take on the role of director for the first time with the company. Information about Ghostlight Repertory Theatre can be found on their website at ghostlightrep.org.
As the school year kicks off, be sure to take a break every so often by going out to see a production by one of the theater companies in Oxford. The performing arts are a part of the culture here, and every single one of these companies is happy to celebrate that with their audiences during this upcoming season.
-Ashton Dawes
