Academy Theatre Offers Escape From Hum Drum

It’s a cold, rainy Tuesday night, the kind of evening that’s perfect for snuggling under a blanket with a good book. Yet, the parking lot of the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates is filled with cars.

Who comes out on a night like that? On this particular blustery evening, it’s actors, directors, wrestlers and trainers plus all those other hardworking individuals making sure the curtain rises.

In one room, actors sit in a circle of sorts, scripts in hand, snapping dialogue back and forth rehearsing for “The Good Man Myth.” Presented by Love Self 1st, the play takes a look at three women looking for the perfect man and their trials in dating according to everyone else’s rules. The play is scheduled to run Feb. 24 through Feb. 27.

Around the corner, the stage is set for with a mission of “saving the art of professional wrestling, one match at a time.” This is exactly what you think it is,” says Academy Theatre’s artistic director, Robert Blake.

Part sport and part theater, the cast of characters includes masked warhorses and others such as the "konkrete gorillaz" whose actions follow a revenge-filled storyline.

The PCW Founder Stephen Platinum has loved the sport since he was a kid. He is a veteran wrestler himself and takes it seriously.

“This is a physically tough sport — very, aerobic," he said.  

The men and women who step inside the ring learn the basics of professional wrestling and are schooled in how to break their falls when thrown down by their opponents and how to tell a story in the ring.

Wrestlers are spontaneous and respond to the crowd.

“Pro wrestling isn’t choreographed,” he said. You can find out what it’s like to experience the sport and drama ringside every Friday night at 8 p.m.

The Academy Theatre produces classic and contemporary plays and provides a space for exploring the arts. A part of that is Working Title Playwrights, an organization that helps playwrights understand how to tell their stories and how to promote their plays.

On Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., the Working Title Playwrights will perform an On-Demand Reading of “BathHamlet,” by local playwright Jordan Pulliam.

“It’s “Hamlet” seen through Batman’s eyes,” said the Working Title Playwrights managing artistic director, Jill Patrick. Hamlet will suit up Batman-style to avenge King Police Commissioner Gordrick and other arch enemies with names vaguely familiar such as the Jester, Puffin and Lord Riddles, all with the help of his loyal sidekick, Horatio.

Another regular show featured at the Academy is Laughing Matters, an improv comedy troupe based in Atlanta. The group presents Battle Acts! On Feb. 19, eight improvisators start the show, but only one will claim the title of Champion of Battle Acts. The show starts at 8 p.m.

Founded in 1956 by Frank Wittow, the Academy Theatre has a strong educational outreach programs, including Theatre for Youth Artists-In-Schools Tour, which brings theater to schools. The theatre also has a senior touring ensemble and has play development projects with underserved, at risk and special populations. Thus far it has served more than 2 million school children to date. 

Find out more about the Academy Theatre at www.academytheatre.org.