Wednesday, February 14, 2001

For the past year, the south side's Offshoot Productions, a professional theater company, has been performing in the Royce Regeon Band Hall of the LaFayette Educational Center, formerly Fayette County High School, in Fayetteville.

Productions have included professional cast shows "Scotland Road" and "Twelfth Night," as well as the apprentice show "Beanie and the Bamboozling Book Machine" and last summer's Festival of Theater for children. In addition, the company has offered low-cost acting classes and summer theater camps for children through the Fayette Community School Program.

Now that the Board of Education is converting the band hall into a records retention center, the company is out of a space for camps, rehearsals and performances. "Having been a homeless theater for so many years," said producing artistic director Susan M. Steadman, Ph.D., "it was wonderful to rent an intimate space that we could convert into a black box-type theater."

The eight-year-old company, which finished its run of "Twelfth Night" Feb. 11, is seeking a new venue. One possibility lies in the conversion of the now-vacant movie theaters at Westpark Walk in Peachtree City. However, in order to recoup the investment in the proposed conversion of the space by the Endowment Committee for Cultural Arts, the rent charged may be beyond what this production-on-a-shoestring company can afford.

Offshoot's popular Stars on the Southern Crescent coffeehouse also moved to the band hall this year. The next scheduled event, Saturday, March 10, will be in the cafeteria at LaFayette instead. The April apprentice show, "The Blue Light," may be produced there as well, but for a shorter run than originally planned, if other leads do not pan out.

Productions had been scheduled for June and July, but everything is on hold as the company tries to find a new home. "We are hoping that someone in Fayette County will come up with a space for storage, rehearsal and performance," said Steadman. "We have been forced to double our storage fees to rent a space which will accommodate risers, flats, set pieces and so on."

The south side's longest-running professional theater, Offshoot was begun in 1993 by Steadman, a director and playwright, and Susan R. Dolan, a Peachtree City artist, musician and performer.

For information or to offer suggestions, phone 770-631-2362 or e-mail offshootpr@aol.com.

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