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Fayette Players re-emerge after 2-yr. absence

Plans in the works for large project at YMCA

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

After their production of “The Music Man” at Sams Auditorium in the summer of 2003, Fayette Players, formerly Fayette Community Theatre, disappeared from the cultural landscape of Fayette County.

The rental prices to use the local schools’ facilities went up and the Fayette Players board understood. The group continued to search for solutions to their venue problem and they recently found a temporary one, as well as what they and the dozens of other arts groups in the county hopes to be a permanent solution.

Over the past several months, presentations have been made to local municipalities and corporations about a facility at the YMCA on Huiet Road in Fayette County that would feature an aquatic center, an arts center, a wellness center and a teen center.

This presentation was made to members of local swimming community last week at the Kedron Fieldhouse and the invitation-only fund-raising kickoff party for the facility, which is expected to cost between $22 and $25 million, is a little over two months away.

Joan Velsmid, the former president of Fayette Players, is the incoming board president of the YMCA and is one of the major players behind the effort to get the facility built.

“It is an arts and humanities concept,” said Velsmid. “It is for the body and the mind.”

The effort behind the Y project is seeking a lot of volunteers but not for fund-raising. What the group needs most is people with any type of expertise to aid the effort as well as others to spread the word and help grow the excitement in the community.

The design process of the complex has been going on for the past year and a half. The aquatic center will feature a 50-meter pool with bleachers, movable bulkheads and a lot of deck space. The goal is for the aquatic center to be able to host the a national meet for the Masters as well as to host a state championship for high school teams.

The arts center will feature a theater that can seat 450 people as well as a black box theater, classrooms and an area to build sets.

Though the price tag is high, the people behind the effort estimate that 75 percent of the cost will be pad for by large corporate donations. The maintenance and operating cost for the complex will be paid for by membership dues and ticket sales, among other things.

With both the aquatic center and the arts center being booked as often as they expect them to be, the organizers expect no problem with the upkeep of the facility.

With optimism about the project growing by the day, Fayette Players came back together earlier this year and set a schedule at the Fayette Family YMCA. They will put on several shows this year and next at the cabin, which has also been used by organizations like Fayette Coweta Family Theatre and Offshoot Productions.

The Fayette Players’ first show at the Fayette Family YMCA will be Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” and the group is planning on following it up with several more Neil Simon shows over the next year. In addition to the theatrical performances, the group also plans to sponsor art and poetry contests and is in the planning stages of a dance competition.

Fayette Players is also seeking new members to help in any capacity possible; publicity and performing to set construction and crew work, and they are also hoping that the community will come out and support not only their shows but all forms of the cultural arts in the county.

For more information on Fayette Players or the Y project, e-mail Joan Velsmid at joanvelsmid@msn.com.