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Picayune On Stage was established in 1980. The first board meeting was held on March 31, 1980 and the following members were selected to serve on the board of directors.
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Lonnie Hodge Interim Chairman
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The Reverend Jay Decker President
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Robert Brown Vice President
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Janice Hollensbe Treasurer
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Cletus Beard Secretary
From the beginning, central discussion was a “home” for Picayune On Stage. It is a dilemma that continues to haunt this group to this day. For lack of a home, the first production, The Night of January 16th, was held at the Criminal Justice Center. The venue was appropriate since the entire action takes place in a courtroom. The play was directed by Vivian Napier with Cletus Beard as Production Manager and Mertle Shanks as Stage Manager. On the tenth anniversary of its first production, Picayune On Stage again presented The Night of January 16th at the Criminal Justice Center.
In the early years, Bill and Mary Wagoner were considered to be one of the core influences of POS. Bill and Mary were professors at UNO. Bill was a professor in Economics and Mary in English. Both served, throughout the years, multiple terms as President. Both performed in and directed numerous plays. Bill and Mary’s strength and guidance helped POS to survive in those early years. Their impact continued through to the mid to late 1990s.
Another couple who have been pivotal in the success of POS is Gladys and Hughie Hughes. The Hughes also served multiple terms as President, performed, directed, and guided the group through many successful productions. Gladys has encouraged many newcomers who have never performed on stage before to take on the challenge of playing a role. She has given many people the “acting bug”.
In the early years, rehearsals were held in people’s home, at the Work Activity Center, and at Friendship Park. Chairs were positioned to simulate doorways, entrances/exits, etc. Productions were held at Friendship Park. However, the stage could not be set up until the weekend before the first show, and the set had to be struck immediately following the last show. Since the set could not remain on stage during practice, the furniture was never positioned where it had been practiced. As an actor, you had to make some quick adjustments. After each performance, the furniture, props, everything had to be taken down and locked up so as not to be damaged or stolen. Striking the set after the last performance was always a minimum two-hour affair. You had to be a dedicated member of POS to survive those early days.
Children’s plays began around 1986. The first production was The Emperor’s New Clothes which was performed in July with total audiences of 300. We began a relationship with the Library, offering shows for children in the Library’s Cultural Room. This relationship lasted for several years. Some shows were brought to the large stage, such as: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; Charlotte’s Web; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; The Magician’s Nephew; Once Upon a Brutebeast; Ain’t No Such Thing as a Bogle; Annie; The Children’s Hour; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of the Black Forest; etc. Gladys Hughes wrote, produced and directed The Clown in the Box.
In February 1993, Dr. Bertha Walley and Wootsie Tate visited a Board of Directors meeting in the hopes that POS and the AARP would put on a dinner theater together in order to raise funds. The first dinner theater was Brighton Beach Memoirs and was held in March 1993. These dinner theaters were profoundly successful for all concerned. It brought in an additional audience and raised money for us which was later used to construct our theater in Friendship Park. It also raised a lot of money for the AARP. Consequently, other groups asked POS to let them do a dinner theater with them for fundraising: Girl Scouts, Junior Auxiliary, Civic Women’s Club, etc.
Through an agreement with the City of Picayune, we constructed and opened the doors to the Friendship Theater in the fall of 1994. This theater could seat about 101 people. We had room for dressing rooms, room back stage, some storage, and a lobby. First production in the new theater was Lettice and Lovage.
Each year we made improvements in lighting, sound, etc. And we tried to tackle some productions which were very costly for us to put on, namely musicals: The Sound of Music; Annie; Footloose; Forever Plaid.
Unfortunately, the theater at Friendship Park was torn down by the city in order to make room for more ball fields leaving POS homeless. Due to the dedication of the members of the group, Forever Plaid," Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the Black Forest," and "A Bad Year for Tomatoes" were presented in the Picayune High School Auditorium.
In 2006, we located some space at 322 West Canal Street that we could rent and make into a theater, albeit a small one. Our new 31-seat theater opened its doors in early 2007 with the production of The Cemetery Club. Subsequent productions have been: D.K. Molar the Devious Dentist; The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Oldest Living Graduate. We still dream of a time when we can have a facility at least as large as we had at Friendship Park.
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