JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

If you’re a theatre buff, maybe Jonesborough’s Repertory Theatre isn’t the first venue that pops into your head. But it should be on the top of your list.

I recently attended opening night of the newest play at the theatre, "The Dixie Swim Club," and was surprised to know that some people had never heard of our small-town theatre before.

Even amidst rumors of fire-safety hazards, the house was full. In fact, no one seemed to be worried and fire alarm pulls and exit signs as well as fire extinguishers were clearly visible, thanks to some recent safety updates.

I am by no means a worldly critic of the theatre, but I do enjoy going to performances when, and where I find the time. And, "The Dixie Swim Club" was more than worth finding the time for. It was an amazing theatre experience.

"The Dixie Swim Club" was written by North Carolina playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, who attended the play on this opening night. The Jonesborough performance was the Tennessee premiere of the play, and only the second theatre to perform it.

The story is an impeccably insightful glimpse into the lives, loves and friendships of five very different southern women, drawn together by their time in college as swimmers on their college team. Every year, the women get together and leave their husbands and children behind for one long weekend in August on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

That’s where we come in, the play focuses on four of those weekends and spans 33 years of these women’s lives.

Immediately you could tell you were in for a good show. No more than five minutes into the play, peals of laughter rolled through the audience, and continued throughout – some clever quips even causing the audience to pause their laughter and applaud as well.

But, as the play went on, you felt yourself becoming closer to these women, these same women that we all know in our lives – some of them even like ourselves, our mothers or our sisters and friends. And, when times got tough, you felt yourself not only laughing, but also crying along with these women.

"The Dixie Swim Club" was a roller coaster of emotions. I love emotional roller coasters. After all, I am a woman.

I had the unique opportunity while viewing this play to have two viewpoints, that of myself as a younger woman just beginning to form friendships like the women in the play as well as the viewpoint of my friend, an older gentleman who has watched women like this live their lives to the fullest.

Those two viewpoints are equally encompassed in the breadth of the play, which came to life through the exceptional acting of the five actresses, Janie Jessee, Emily Newland, Katy Rosolowski, Stacey Bracey and Anne Reever Osborne, all from East Tennessee.

What amazed me was how Rosolowski, who works at the International Storytelling Center for her "day job", was able to pull off a southern accent.

The play was directed by Nancy Hope Major, who said she wanted to direct the play after reading it because, as one of a group of five women who meet regularly for vacations just like "The Dixie Swim Club", she identified with the story.

The playwrights were also impressed with the performance.

"I loved what we got to experience on the stage tonight," said Hope after the play. "From the first couple of minutes I knew we were in good hands."

In good hands, the play definitely was. Along with the technical crew and those behind the scenes, and with an exceptional script to work with, the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre crew pulled off another success.

"The Dixie Swim Club" is now closed, but you can catch Jonesborough Repertory Theatre's next production, "Swing", which is scheduled to open July 17.

Originally published June 10, 2008 in the Herald & Tribune, Copyright Jonesboro Publishing