The Greenville Community Theater is kicking off the new year with a new slate of officers and some entertainment-filled plans for 2017.

Johnna Pitts is the GCT’s new president; Jimmy Ansley is vice-president and Pamela Hubacek will serve as secretary-treasurer for the organization.

“It has been my honor to serve as the president of the GCT since it was started, but I am looking forward to seeing what our new officers are going to be doing in the year to come,” said outgoing president Mollie Smith Waters. “They all have tremendous energy and talent, and they all have a background working in theater. The GCT will still be bringing quality performances to the community!”

New leader Johnna Pitts is looking forwarding to helming the community theater group in the coming months.

“I would like to say how grateful and privileged I feel being elected as president of the Greenville Community Theater. I’m excited about what we will do this year,” said Pitts. “I hope to continue the great work done by Past President Mollie Waters, and renew our commitment to bringing the theater experience to our communities and offer new opportunities for our local talent to act!”

At their recent organizational meeting, members discussed plans to hold a film festival of “oldies but goodies” in downtown’s historic Ritz Theatre in March in conjunction with the Camellia City Fest.

“The idea would be once City Fest ends in the afternoon, folks already downtown can come to the Ritz and enjoy a double feature for a very reasonable price,” said Pitts. Pitts plans to go through an inventory of older films that would be available to buy or rent at a low cost to the GCT.

In addition, the community theater enthusiasts are looking ahead to the summer months and making plans to hold another dinner theater, with several potential venues to be explored.

“People have really loved our dinner theater shows in the past,” Waters said. “They are fun for the performers and for the audience–and easier and less expensive to mount than a full-fledged stage production at the Ritz. Also, with this being planned for the summer, some of our talented high school students and kids home from college could be a part of it.” 

Members also discussed the possibility of choosing a play with a summer theme such as a wedding or tropical luau, with the menu reflecting the play’s theme.

Waters encouraged members to visit www.lazybeescripts.co.uk to explore the many scripts available.