Welcome to Foothills Community Players
Foothills Community Players is a non-profit, all volunteer community theatrical company… a theater of, for, and by the Blount County community. It was founded by people who love live theater and have a passion to share it with our families, friends, and neighbors.
Foothills Community Players furnishes an outlet for the creative talents of its volunteers, offering opportunities for individuals, with or without formal theatrical backgrounds, to get involved in all areas of theatrical production - both on stage and behind the scenes: auditions, costumes, properties and set decoration, directing, producing, programs, box office, season tickets, rehearsals, publicity, set design and construction, hair and makeup, fundraising, newsletters, lighting and sound, ushering, and refreshments. Except for a small stipend paid to the directors of our summer musicals, all of this support is provided to FCP on an unpaid, volunteer basis. Income to cover FCP's operating expenses is derived from box office ticket sales, season ticket sales, grant and personal donations, and fundraising activities.
FCP traditionally produces four main productions per season - from Neil Simon classics to musicals that rival much larger theatrical organizations. Depending on the production, we currently perform at two local venues, The Capitol Theatre and the Clayton Center for the Arts.
The Capitol Theatre in Downtown Maryville has a longstanding history in our community. This newly renovated art-deco historic site now serves as an entertainment venue with a performance stage, movie screen, and dance floor providing a nostalgic yet modern and intimate venue. FCP’s first two seasons were performed here, and we enjoy the wonderful ambiance of The Capitol Theatre.
The Clayton Center for the Arts on the Maryville College Campus is a complex of entertainment venues which includes an outdoor Plaza, an expansive recital hall, a Flexible Theatre with a seating capacity of 200, and the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, a spacious proscenium theatre with continental seating in the orchestra and balcony. We will be performing some of our shows in the Flexible Theatre and our summer musicals will be performed in the Nutt Theatre.
Because FCP does perform in more than one venue, season tickets must be purchased through FCP rather than the venues themselves. The Nutt Theatre is the only venue that has reserved seating while The Capitol Theatre and the CCA Flexible Theatre are general admission seating only.
FCP has grown very quickly in our first two years of existence because of the support and encouragement of so many in our community. With two full seasons behind us, we now find that we've outgrown our core group's garages, basements, and carports we've used for storage and workshops. Our rehearsals have been held at local churches who have very graciously allowed us to utilize their space. However, as a nonprofit, all-volunteer arts organization, with an eye toward being extremely frugal, we are looking for a facility where we could combine our storage, workshop, rehearsal, and meeting needs.
Thank you so much for your interest in Foothills Community Players, and we look forward to entertaining and serving Blount County for generations to come.
"The arts are at the very center of
community development in this time of change… change for the better. It is
essential to the future of our country that the arts be encouraged and
supported."
—Robert Gard, Rockefeller Foundation