Academy Theatre in Hapeville celebrates 70 years of storytelling, training actors

Founded in 1956, Hapeville's Academy Theatre is celebrating 70 years of storytelling, training actors and introducing audiences to new ideas.

The city institution, which artistic director Robert Drake describes as Georgia's longest-running theater, also holds the distinction of being the first professional theater to integrate both its casts and audience in the southeastern United States.

Over seven decades, the company has weathered multiple relocations, lean budgets, and the shifting tides of the entertainment industry. Now, it is marking its anniversary with "N," a provocative historical drama exploring a conflict over race, dignity and artistic control.

Inside the rehearsal hall this week, an exchange of powerful dialogue echoes across the stage. Under the watchful direction of director Brenda Porter, who is also the artistic director for Impact Theater, the cast is fine-tuning the drama.

The play examines the untold friction behind Eugene O'Neill's 1920 Broadway sensation, "The Emperor Jones," revisiting the contentious creative clash between O'Neill, the celebrated white playwright, and Charles S. Gilpin, the pioneering Black star who originated the title role on Broadway.

Their partnership fractured over Gilpin's refusal to keep delivering dehumanizing racial slurs written into the script, a dispute that ultimately led to Gilpin being replaced by a young Paul Robeson when the production went overseas. Under Porter's direction, the ensemble mines every beat for honest friction, turning a century-old battle over dignity and artistic ownership into an electrifying stage presence.

"The Academy Theatre has had a 70-year history of being the birthplace of new theater and new ideas and new approaches and we're especially proud to continue that," Drake said.

He said the theater has served as a foundational training ground for actors and directors over the decades, including Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, David Hasselhoff, and John Schneider. All honed their craft under the theatre's guidance either in-house or with its traveling group of actors.

Like other arts organizations, the theater faces financial challenges while competing with streaming services and other digital entertainment.

"The Academy Theatre, like all theaters, is fighting for its financial life and part of that is competing against a digital space," Drake said. "We used to be able to keep eight full-time actors on an annual salary, but we can't do that anymore."

Despite those challenges, the theater has kept its core educational mission alive through its apprenticeship and internship program.

"One of the things we're really proud of is that we've kept our apprentice and internship program and we continue to launch a number of actors in just this decade alone," Drake said. "We've got over 20 people who make their entire living in the performing arts."

For Drake, live theater offers a connection that other forms of entertainment cannot replicate.

"It provides an intimate window into someone else's reality because when they're crying on stage, that's a real person crying and that's a connection you can't make over film," he said. "Theater is an art form that AI will not take away."

Beyond its mainstage productions, the Academy Theatre operates a second stage featuring local performers.

"We have a variety of performers from jazz musicians to magicians to poets to storytellers who come and let you wind down your weekend from 6:30 to 8:30 on a Sunday," Drake said.

As the company looks toward its next chapter, its leaders hope the theater remains a training ground for working artists and a cultural anchor for Hapeville.

A free preview of "N" is scheduled for Thursday night at the Academy Theatre on North Central Avenue in downtown Hapeville. The production officially opens this weekend.