OUR HISTORY
SCT is a 501C3 non-profit, award-winning community theatre dedicated to promoting theatre in Shelby County, AL and a proud member of the Alabama Conference of Theatre, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, and the American Association of Community Theatre. We produce six mainstage plays each year and special events attracting approximately 3,000 audience members annually. Our youth program, Acting Up, offers two workshops during the school year and a two-week summer camp, which allow children ages 9-16 the opportunity to study the craft of acting by producing a production under the direction of professional theatre instructors.
SCT was the the brainchild of Alan and Francie Gardner who shepherded the fledgling organization through multiple facilities and grew the theatre into a flourishing community entity for twelve years.
In May, 2012, the Gardners passed the reins to the Gerrells’. Sue Ellen serves as Artistic Director and Mike Gerrells is the Facilities Manager/Technical Director. The Gerrells have brought energy, passion, and expertise to South City. Sue Ellen, an award-winning actress and director, is the former Executive Director for the Alabama Conference of Theatre and is a Fellow of the American Association of Community Theatre. Mike is a past-president of The Seasoned Performers, Alabama’s only senior adult theatre and works as set construction consultant for area theaters. In 2016, Daniel Strickland joined Mike as a second technical director.
In 2015, the SCT board took a leap of faith and moved the theatre to Pelham, AL. Success followed success as this gamble paid off in triple attendance figures and doubled youth programming. SCT has turned its Pelham home into Shelby County’s most intimate theatre. With the acquisition of the adjacent office/work bays, SCT now has a complete theatre facility with performance space, a much needed rehearsal/workshop room, storage facilities, lobby, green room & dressing rooms and both public and private restrooms. In addition to a full season of six adult stage productions, we tour some of our shows to Homewood Public Library. Special productions can be mounted for company events such as NUCOR’s annual company retreat and the Alabama Community Theatre Festival in Wetumpka in October. Workshops by theatre professionals such as Professor Neil David Seibel (Auburn University, Montgomery) and Equity actress Jeanmarie Collins offer adult participants new tools for their craft toolbox. Two children’s workshops and a summer camp with three children’s productions help train the next generation of theatre artists.
Our theatre has produced over 200 productions on our mainstage and in our children’s programs. SCT has won “Best in Show” at recent state festivals and represented Alabama at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) with “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Agnes of God,” “Sylvia,” “Doubt, ” and ” ‘night, Mother.” In 2020, South City’s production of Audrey Cefaly’s “The Gulf” took top honors at SETC, winning Best in Show, and Outstanding Achievement in Acting, Directing, and Set Design. In 2021, our production of “Collected Stories” was invited to participate at the virtual national festival, AACTFest 2021 winning an “Outstanding Set Design” award.
Check out our “BLOG” for information about upcoming productions, auditions, and other events.
South City Theatre is a proud member of the following
