Excited about the progress our group is making toward the restoration of Antoinette Hall Opera House while keeping our education in the arts firmly rooted on our beautiful Historic Pulaski, TN square! Answering the dissatisfied reviewer, I am the Executive Director and at no time has any such concerns been brought to me. The non profit holds the deed on the building we are located in. Furthermore, I am afraid their facts are not correct and are misleading. If there was a question, I do wish this person would come to us for answers rather than display their concern with inaccurate allegations with the intent to cause harm. Our books are open, we have always been transparent. Any fees charged ($25 at the most for larger productions with extensive costumes) for printed materials, music are explained and justified prior to audition. There is NO charge to anyone for the professional educators providing instruction in drama, dance and voice for the 6 week period leading up to a show. (and they are NOT paid - they volunteer too) Yes, we do charge parents for tickets. Our tickets range from $5-$15. I have been a volunteer at STAAR along with many other wonderful parents, teens and children for 12 years making great strides with these volunteers to create a safe, fun, educational environment for ALL ages and backgrounds to participate and enjoy! Visit antoinettehall.com for information on how to become involved! We love new faces and enjoy sharing the arts and history in Giles County!
STAAR Theatre and Center for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) all volunteer community theatre and arts center located on our beautiful square that is focused on providing quality education in the arts by professionals in their field. We put on approximately 5-6 productions a year including children's, historical, comedys, musicals and dramas including locally written plays all of which feature local talent! The countless hours of volunteer help, be it the board members, set designers and painters, actors, marketing and directing teams, producers and stage managers, wardrobe, housekeeping, box office and fabulous parents and patrons make what we do at STAAR possible! NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON IS PAID FOR WHAT THEY DO FOR ANY PRODUCTION... Their hearts are in this and we are happy to have so many fabulous volunteers! Every penny STAAR makes goes toward the building payment, insurances, utilities, taxes and the next production! If you'd like more information or would like to volunteer, please contact us anytime and we would be thrilled to have you on board!
A few past productions include: Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Grease, Steel Magnolias, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Nutcracker Ballet, A Christmas Carol, Annie, The Trial of Sam Davis, 1776 The Musical, Phantom of the Old Opera House, Aladdin, 12 Angry Jurors, Always Patsy Cline....to name a few. The production team goes out of their way to raise the money needed to gain the rights to put on shows such as these, with special attention to the details of wardrobe and set. The training that the actors and techs receive are at no cost to them whatsoever....we even have a handful of talents who have decided to pursue careers in the entertainment industry and reside in NYC making a living in their fields!
Our goal is to raise awareness to restore a beautiful 1868 Opera House on our second floor (closed int the 1930's) and create an expansive arts center that will be a tremendous asset to our County and State both for those who will use the arts center and for general economic impact for Giles County! Please feel free to contact us for tours....we are happy to share and welcome all!
This organization goes by the name of Southern Tennessee Area Arts Repertory or STAAR. They have wonderful plays but there is no transparency. There is no account of where the money goes and when asked about it, I heard one of the principal officers said he didn't have to explain himself. Supposedly, money is being raised to restore the building they are in but it is owned by one of the principal owners listed in the IRS records. I also heard that parents were required to pay for the costumes the kids would use during the play, purchase tickets then were sent an email after the play was over letting people know they could purchase the costumes from STAAR. I wish someone would look into the details of this organization and put a lot of people's minds at ease. May God bless you all.
Review from Guidestar