More than 600 people came to Waynesville last weekend for the North Carolina Theatre Conference, an annual convergence of amateur and professional actors, directors, producers, technical directors and community theatre aficionados from around the state.

The conference brought in an estimated $50,000 into the local economy, based on expense figures for hotel rooms, bed and breakfast reservations, and other visitor accommodations, according to Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre Executive Director Steve Lloyd.

Traditionally held in more urban venues in the center of the state such as Greensboro, Raleigh and Burlington, NCTC features community theatre competitions, auditions and theatre classes for scores of actors from around the state.

Theatre representatives were lured to Waynesville thanks in part to the efforts of Lloyd, who served as acting president of the NCTC board of directors. Lloyd made the pitch that while bigger cities have convention centers to accommodate hundreds of visitors, a cozy small town offers more of a family charm. Plus, a theatre convention would register only a blip on a city’s economy, but for a small town it’s a big deal, and visitors would appreciate feeling like special guests.

So Lloyd and a host of HART volunteers planned for a year, making reservations, alerting downtown Waynesville merchants, and signing up local musicians   including electrifying Cuban band Son de Cuba — to entertain the guests. By all reports, things went off well, Lloyd said. People were especially amazed by the volunteer support that HART has amassed, he added.

In addition to using the Performing Arts Center facility, HART was able to get help from the Salvation Army and the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts (the Shelton House) to provide additional space for theatre activities. Visitors took lodging in a variety of hotels, bed and breakfast inns and homes around Haywood County.

In addition to helping out the local economy, the conference helped to continue to give Waynesville a respectable reputation on the statewide community theatre map. At last year’s NCTC competition in Rocky Mount, HART’s show, “Beauty Queen of Leenane,” earned all the top honors — including best production — and went on to the regional and national competitions. Steve Lloyd, who was the first NCTC board of director chosen west of Asheville, quickly rose through the ranks to become president of NCTC last year. Though he recently rotated off the board, there is now a good possibility that someone from HART will wind up replacing him on the board, which will continue to give Western North Carolina a strong presence in the affairs of the state’s community theatre scene. Needless to say, the most recent NCTC convention added a splendid feather in the cap of Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News