Roswell Community Little Theater Spotlight on: Alethea Hartwell

Alethea Hartwell, seasoned director, and actress for Roswell Community Little Theater (RCLT) has begun an improv program for the theater. The second production is in the works and scheduled for Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. inside of the theater.
Alethea brings out the best in her actors. She shines in the art of improv, pulling delight and mischief from the impromptu performances of old and young thespians.

Married for 21 years to her high school sweetheart, Alethea grew up in Roswell where she homeschooled her daughter and son. Alethea’s parents drew her into theater at a young age. When she was 12, she “opened the door” of the murder room in the play, the Murder Room, along with several other special effects. This early theater work, along with church skits gave Alethea the “acting bug” and she has happily worked in theater ever since. Her directing debut was Wait Until Dark at RCLT in the old building about 15 years ago.

One of Alethea’s most memorable experiences in theater was in the comedy, Evening of Culture. It is a play within a play and Alethea starred as Juliet’s mother. In the performance, many malfunctions were scripted in. A flat was to fall and a bench was to kind of break. On opening night, as Alethea sat on the bench that was to “kind of break,” it broke completely, and she found herself abruptly seated on the stage floor. She managed to calm her giggles before they got the best of her, and the performance was well received. Of course, the bench was fixed to “kind of break” for the following performance.
Alethea is a consummate professional. She knows her lines long before the off-script rehearsal and manages to turn even marginal characters into great fun on stage. When asked how she does this, she responds that she tries to think what the character would do in any given instance and then channels that into her role.

The nervous jitters on opening night, signal Alethea that she is off and running. They give her a boost of adrenaline. In a recent play that she was directing, one of the main actors fell ill between week one and week two of the live performance. Alethea stepped into his role and performed several of his scenes. Though she knew the lines, she wasn’t quite stage ready. However, the jitters and her professionalism got her through.
Alethea is the perfect director for Improv between shows. Attend this event and laugh and enjoy on Friday, 28 Jan. We hope to see you there.