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Town of Boone Begins Improvements at Horn in the West

Story by Sam Calhoun

In less than three months, the curtain will rise for the 57th season of Horn in the West, and the Town of Boone is making sure that safety issues are addressed and corrected at the amphitheater before the first patron arrives.

“There are some safety improvements that need to be completed before we start the show,” said Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson, who used to work and serve on the board at Horn in the West. “The town expects to complete all improvements by mid-May.”

The 2008 season at Horn in the West begins Friday, June 20, and concludes on Saturday, August 16. In addition to the Horn in the West performances this year, two other events are scheduled at the venue for the fall—Daniel Boone Days on Saturday, September 6, and the Hickory Ridge Homestead Apple Festival on Saturday, October 11.

This week, crews from Boone Public Works took down a large section of the stage backdrop at Horn in the West, and Clawson said it will be replaced in the next two or three weeks.

“That was a safety issue,” said Clawson.

Last season, the Powderhorn Theater was not used because “the roof was sagging down,” said Clawson, but repairs are scheduled in April.

“There will be big improvements in April to the Powderhorn Theater,” said Clawson. “We are conducting major structural renovations to the roof system and electrical upgrades. It will be completed by the end of May.”

Boone Public Works and private contractors are implementing all the improvements at Horn in the West. Boone Public Works is also trimming trees around the property. The Town of Boone, owner of the property, is not making improvements other than addressing safety issues this season. The town will not replace audience seating this season.

“We own the [Horn in the West] property and the Town of Boone has some money set aside for these improvements,” said Clawson. “The Town of Boone is responsible for getting [Horn in the West] up to safety code.”

Clawson said that Blowing Rock architect Larry Greene is working on a new concept design for the entire facility. Horn in the West board members will use Greene’s plans to show potential donors to the Horn’s planned capital campaign what Horn in the West could look like in a few years.

“That’s a bit down the road, but we wanted to have something to take and show to people,” said Clawson.

“I’m really excited about the improvements,” added Clawson. “[These improvements] could hold [Horn in the West] for three to four years and give [the Horn in the West board] an opportunity to get some money raised.”

For more information on Horn in the West’s 57th season, click to www.horninthewest.com.

Horn in the West Hires New Artistic Director

Editor’s note: On February 28, High Country Press printed a story about the new artistic director for Horn in the West that included some inaccuracies. The original story listed Jenny Cole Reed’s character as Mrs. Morris when it is really Widow Howard. Also, Julie Richardson—not her parents—worked at Horn in the West in the 1970s; her parents, rather, were instrumental in getting the Horn in the West amphitheater built in the 1950s. Richardson, it should be noted, was not alive when the show was called Echoes of the Blue Ridge, as was originally reported in the story. In addition, Richardson’s first job at Horn in the West was in 1975 as general technician, not as production stage manager. The following is the corrected story.

Julie Richardson never got her closing night at Horn in the West.

After working at the outdoor drama for many years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Richardson’s closing night came in 1983, but rain canceled the performance and she can remember sobbing backstage, believing that she would never return to work on the show.

But never say never. Richardson, a Boone native, has returned home after working at various outdoor dramas and theaters across the nation and is the new artistic director for Horn in the West. The outdoor drama is preparing for its 57th annual season that begins Friday, June 20, and continues until Saturday, August 16.

Horn in the West is not new to Richardson. Her mother worked with the Women’s Garden Club at Horn in the West in the 1960s, and Richardson can remember watching the show as a little girl perched on the hillside facing the stage.

Her parents were instrumental—along with many others—in building the space that is called Horn in the West. Richardson’s mother was involved in Echoes of the Blue Ridge, the pageant that inspired a group of people to approach Kermit Hunter to write a show about this area.

After graduating from Watauga High School, Richardson enrolled in ASU studying theater communications and got her first taste of thespian life. It was 1975, and Richardson took an interest in Horn in the West. She had been working at ASU helping out with the light design, scenic design and organizing the shop when one of the students who worked at the Horn helped her get a job as a general technician.

From 1979 to 1983, Richardson split her time between working as Horn’s production manager in the summer and working as the stage manager for the Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, Tenn. during the fall, winter and spring. One of her goals was to become an equity stage manager, and that quest led her away from Horn in the West in 1983.

After missing her closing night at the Horn because of rain, Richardson took a job as lighting designer with a traveling company of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. After that, she was hired at the company’s new home in Montgomery and became an equity stage manager. Richardson spent four years working in Alabama.

In Alabama, Richardson met her ex-husband and the couple moved to Atlanta to work at the Alliance Theater. From there, Richardson moved on to St. Petersburg, Fla. where she worked as a stage manager for two years.

“Basically, I’ve been on the road since 1979,” said Richardson.

Richardson recently came back to the High Country to work with the Blowing Rock Stage Company—an equity company that allows Richardson to keep her union insurance. While in Blowing Rock this past Christmas, Ed Pilkington—a close friend of Richardson’s who originally helped her get a job at the Horn and was the Horn’s director for many seasons—told Richardson about the job opening at Horn in the West and encouraged her to apply.

“Ed [Pilkington] is my mentor in this,” said Richardson, who also thanked the Blowing Rock Stage Company for allowing her to split her time, enabling her to work as an equity stage manager and also work at the drama that helped train her to become a professional.

After figuring out how to split her time between the Blowing Rock Stage Company and Horn in the West, Richardson accepted the Horn offer and has been hard at work ever since.

Richardson has plans to use one of the Horn in the West scripts from the late 1970s—one that provides more character and relationship development—to reinvigorate the show. She is also calling on old friends of the Horn to come back to the show, sans payment, and help bring it back to life. For instance, one of her friends from The Lost Colony now builds sets for Saturday Night Live and has agreed to help because he loves outdoor drama, and an old Horn props master is coming back to assistant direct for free. Other folks who worked for Horn for years are asking what they can do, and others are writing that they will come and work for a couple of days. Others have offered support and encouraging words.

“They’re doing it out of a love for the Horn and outdoor drama and what it taught them when they were young,” said Richardson.

Richardson is also appealing to community members and past employees for help with the production. In addition to volunteering time, Richardson is looking for anything that will help offset the overhead of putting on such a show, such as donated fabric, clothes, money to buy a more period-accurate shotgun, lumber, sand, clothing detergent or laundry services.

“We can use everyone’s support to get Horn on the map again,” said Richardson. “People need to remember that [Horn in the West] was one of the draws that brought people to Boone in the first place. I want to invite people to come out and hear our own history again.”

Richardson said that the core trio of actors in the outdoor drama—Wes Martin as Daniel Boone, Jenny Cole Reed as the Widow Howard and Darrell King as Reverend Isaiah Sims—will return for their roles this summer, but the other roles will be filled through open auditions.

For more information, click to www.horninthewest.com.