Acting With Compassion

Community. A word so often emphasized that it sometimes loses its weight.

Stage Crafters president David Chancellor has resolved to do right by the term inherent to his work.

“We are a community theater,” he said. “It’s in our name, right? Stage Crafters Community Theatre. But what does that mean?

“To me, it means we are here as a resource for our community; we are here to add to the artistic fabric of our community, which I think is vital to a healthy, thriving society,” he continued. “But it also means we are dependent upon our community.”

The nonprofit theater is the longest-running of its kind in the state — entirely volunteer-run since 1972. A core group of 30 people regularly commit time to production and design, a 10-member board manages administrative duties and innumerable others return each season to help bring shows to life.

“We’ve got a lot of people that do a lot of hard work,” said Chancellor, who makes a point to attend every audition to welcome new and returning volunteers.

Performer Cora Rasmussen recalls her first Stage Crafters audition in 2023 as a breath of fresh air.

“At auditions, (Chancellor) stood up and said, ‘It takes so much bravery to come in the door and do it. You guys are doing great,’” Rasmussen recalled. “So to have that encouragement from the jump, it was like, ‘Okay, I can do this.’”

Her community theater experience living in Washington State lacked the community element.

“Up there, it’s big cities — it’s very cut-throat, it’s brutal,” Rasmussen said. “Here, I avoided theater for like four or five years just because I didn’t want to deal with that in a new place.”

A friend convinced Rasmussen to come see for herself.

“It was a very welcoming atmosphere, which I was not expecting,” Rasmussen said. “You can be kind and do theater; it’s possible.”

In the 2023 production of Catch 22, Rasmussen made her Stage Crafters debut playing three parts, one of them being a male character.

“The level of differentiation she had between each of the characters was just amazing,” Chancellor said. “I had a chance to chat with her during move-in, and I knew right away based on what I was seeing on stage that this was not her first show.”

In June, Rasmussen played Miss Casewell in a production of The Mousetrap, a murder mystery from the desk of famed detective novelist and playwright Agatha Christie.

“This is a very different character than I’m used to playing,” said Rasmussen, who is accustomed to romantic roles. “She’s snarky, she’s her own person, she’s not romantically interested in anyone.”

Chancellor is focused on helping newcomers blossom and building upon the younger volunteer base to prepare the theater’s next generation of key players.

In June, performer Cora Rasmussen (center) played Miss Casewell in The Moustrap. Rasmussen has been surprised by the sense of community she found at Stage Crafters, a hard contrast from the intensity of her previous big-city theater experiences. Photo by Nathan Saczynski/NASCO Photo

“It is definitely a different level of commitment,” Chancellor said. “I’m in awe that anybody is willing to step up and do it. It’s hard, and it can be thankless sometimes. But it’s necessary.”

The shoes to fill are far from small, with measures of people like Nancy Kruzek who’s been a volunteer since the organization’s beginnings.

When Kruzek moved to the Fort Walton Beach area in the early ’70s, she heard about a new organization preparing their first show and went to introduce herself.

“She shows up for the first show, and in the program, she’s listed as a contributor to the organization,” said Chancellor, recalling the story Kruzek had shared with him. “She’d only talked to them; she hadn’t done anything.”

The snafu led Kruzek to join Stage Crafters where she directed their second-ever show. She’s been an active member ever since. Today, she still attends rehearsals and shows and offers mentorship to new directors such as Gail Hurley ahead of her debut directorship of The Mousetrap.

“Nancy is truly a treasure to this organization,” said Chancellor. “The fact that we’re still here at all, I give great credit to her.”

The organization has faced challenges in recent years. For decades, the Fort Walton Beach Civic Auditorium has been Stage Crafters’ main stage. But just around the corner is the warehouse they call home.

The Fort Walton Beach Civic Center is home to Stage Crafters performances. But the warehouse around the corner is where shows take shape. In 2023, grant and donor funding helped the nonprofit theater purchase the land it had long called home. Photo by Nathan Saczynski/NASCO Photo

For some 45 years, the property was on lease through a deal with the city.

“Originally, the lease was very easy for us,” Chancellor said. “A couple of years ago, the city started looking for revenue streams, and they realized that this piece of property is actually quite valuable.”

Instead of selling, the city offered Stage Crafters a rent increase. The inflated cost would be unaffordable for the nonprofit.

Business manager Craig Ewing took to negotiations with the city, hoping to settle on a purchase price that could make the warehouse Stage Crafters’ home once and for all. But it would be the greater community who would settle the score.

“We were very fortunate to receive an Impact100 grant.”

Impact100 of Northwest Florida, an all-female membership organization that funds donations to worthy nonprofits in Okaloosa and Walton counties, awarded $100,000 toward the purchase of the property.

An additional $100,000 in funding came from a donor match from local supporter Ron Frost, who passed away just months later in October 2023.

A core group of 30-plus Stage Crafters volunteers help bring shows to life on the civic center stage. Sets, props and costumes are designed and created at the nearby warehouse, then transferred to the auditorium ahead of show week. Photo by Nathan Saczynski/NASCO Photo

“Now knowing that this is our forever home, it’s a huge existential weight off of us,” Chancellor said.

Looking ahead, the Stage Crafters president is working on reestablishing regular one-act performances. The warehouse’s rehearsal stage opens to a small audience space perfect for one-acts and cabarets. But conflicting rehearsal schedules have been a pain point.

Chancellor hopes to take advantage of the theater’s winter season break and put together a One Act Festival for December.

He said the goal is to reignite interest from local audiences which has dwindled since the pandemic. Home entertainment has become a preference, and increasing economic costs have meant more date nights spent at home.

“I recognize that there is an investment,” Chancellor said. “But live theater is incredibly powerful.”

He encourages the community to come out in support and to allow Stage Crafters to connect people to the arts.

“Take a chance,” he said. “Allow the magic of theater to have a powerful impact on you.”

Upcoming Productions

In August, Stage Crafters’ third show of the year, The Naked Truth, presents “a sex comedy with more than sex on its mind.” When an Ohio couple inherits a clothing-optional resort down in Key West, confusion and hilarity inevitably ensue.

In November, Stage Crafters will close out the 2024 season with the Tony Award-winning musical production, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. “It’s about a young man who is a ne’er-do-well, he’s ninth in line to inherit a banking fortune,” president David Chancellor explained. “So, he takes it upon himself to eliminate all other eight members. The fun part of the story is that one person plays all eight of those family members, men and women.”