Twin City Stage Celebrates 80 Years

For 80 years, Twin City Stage has dimmed the house lights and raised the curtain on hundreds of performances.

The theatre company started in 1935 as Little Theatre of Winston-Salem. As a teenager in the 1940s, Georgia West frequently attended performances with her mother. Little Theatre was, as she put it, "the only show in town." In 1965, West auditioned for her first role and from then on, she was hooked. West continued to volunteer with and act for Twin City Stage.

"The thing that really kept us going out there, and it still keeps me going out there today, are the people. You have this wonderful camaraderie. Just like a family."

Looking back, though, she says her favorite role wasn't exactly family-friendly.

“I played Tessiura, one of the strippers in Gypsy. And there were three strippers, and that's what I wanted to play. So when I went for my audition, I took a boa and I really bumped and grind to get that part. We had a wonderful time," West recalls. "And I had this glorious butterfly costume, and I had to put it on every night and look at myself in the mirror in the dressing room to be sure that I could go out on stage looking like that. I still get comments about it today - especially from men, of course.”

Twin City Stage Executive Director Maureen Daly says the theatre company has many people like Georgia West–people who are dedicated to playing their role.

“Organizations, they're very much like people. They take on personalities. They take on characteristics. And this one really really thrives on a body of volunteers. It's pretty impressive," says Daly. "People here at Twin City, that core is incredibly strong. Those folks come in and they stay.”

Twin City Stage celebrates 80 years on Saturday, October 3^rd with a Community Open House featuring behind-the-scenes tours and a Birthday Party. Both will be held at the Arts Council Theatre.