By KATHARINE FRIEDMAN
Correspondent
With big, bright lights shining down and music beginning to play, there is a rush of excitement as the curtain opens and the audience begins to applaud.
Every actor feels this way when stepping out on a Broadway stage. However, for some it does not matter how big the stage is as long as they are performing, which is exactly what it is like for Spotlight Players — a community theater located at First Presbyterian Church in Matawan.
Formed in 1986, Spotlight Players have given people in Monmouth and Ocean counties a chance to sing, dance and act to different classic musicals and comedies. Cliff Greene, a board member, occasional director and member of Spotlight Players for 20 years, said while [Spotlight Players] have done musicals such as “Grease” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” they try not to perform “traditional” musicals.
“How many ‘Oklahomas’ can you sit through?” asked Greene.
Each season Greene and other board members attempt to mix up their shows and keep them different from previous works as much as possible. Next year, the group will have a comedic play in the spring, “The Butler Did It,” and a “Stars of Tomorrow” show in the summer featuring young aspiring actors in “Bugsy Malone.”
On Dec. 3 and 5, Spotlight Players will hold auditions for their winter musical, “Kiss Me Kate.”
While performing another person’s plays are entertaining, Spotlight Players have recently created works of their own. Last fall, an original musical, “The Choir Room,” written by Cliff Greene and Musical Director Justin Ryan, received excellent reviews.
The group hopes to continue their success next fall with another original musical, “The Soldier’s Wife.”
Members who have been on stage or behind the scenes love being a part of Spotlight Players. Dorothy “Dot” Gallop has been a member since 2009 as an actress, director and board member. She saw her son, who attended Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School in East Brunswick, tended to shine on stage at church. As he was not enrolled in the school’s theater program, Gallop had to find another way to let her son express his talent. Following the suggestion to look for community theater, Gallop discovered Spotlight Players.
“We’ve been blessed ever since,” said Gallop. She and both her sons have appeared in productions since 2009. “We are very family-oriented,” said Gallop. “We encourage people to come.”
Lindsey Lorefice, a music teacher at Matawan Aberdeen Middle School, has been in two productions since joining this past summer. She saw a bulletin for rehearsals while attending First Presbyterian Church before deciding to audition. She plans to stay with Spotlight Players for as long as she can.
“It’s a family,” said Lorefice. “They are truly committed to the arts.”
Spotlight Players enjoy taking in people wishing to be a part of the show either on the stage or behind the scenes. If it is someone’s first show, first one since high school or if they have been there since 1986, they will make everyone feel like they are part of a great big family.
“If it has been 20 years since you last stood on stage, come on out,” said Greene.
For more information or to audition, visit http://spotlightplayers.org.