Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / SEACT's Next Act - TPR's In Focus - Sept. 10, 2026

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SEACT's Next Act - TPR's In Focus - Sept. 10, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Wiregrass Archives at Troy University's
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  Dothan campus, identifying and preserving historical documents
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  and photographs for research related to the Wiregrass region.
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  More information at troy.edu/wiregrassarchives.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson. Jennifer Love Doherty,
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  Executive Director of Dothan's Southeast Alabama Community
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  Theater, joins us with big news news about their major project
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  while preparing to present Stephen Sondheim's musical
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  comedy Company next week.
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  Jennifer, thank you for joining us here at Troy Public Radio
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  from SEACT. Carolyn, it's always a pleasure to be here visiting from Southeast
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  Alabama Community Theater. Jennifer, for almost 15
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  years you have been leading this organization, and for
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  listeners who are new, What does SEACT stand for?
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  SEACT is Southeast Alabama Community Theater.
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  We are a community theater, which is a special category of
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  nonprofit community center. That's really how I describe
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  it to people. We're a business that is built around making community
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  connections, and we use theater as a tool to do that.
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  As a result, we end up with an annual season that
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  is put on by the community members and enjoyed
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  by the community itself. We also have an extensive amount
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  of student programming, education stage productions,
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  opportunities to really learn and grow, but also connect
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  with other people through skills that theater presents to all
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  of us. Not only are you serving Alabama,
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  you are serving Florida, the Panhandle, you're serving Southwest
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  Georgia. This is a huge region of service. We do
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  consider ourselves a tri-state organization. You know, we're centered in
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  Dothan, of course, and Dothan and Houston County are a central hub for
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  lots of things because we are in a very rural area.
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  So just as people come in for their shopping and legal
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  services, and sometimes they attend church here, retail,
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  they also come to this area for education and entertainment.
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  So we tend to draw from those rural areas of
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  Southwest Georgia, the Florida Panhandle just below the Alabama
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  and those primary 5 counties in Southeast Alabama.
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  We see students especially from all of those areas.
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  Anyone who goes to your website will be amazed
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  at your offerings for this upcoming season. Can you give us
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  sort of a preview? It does seem to get bigger every year,
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  but it really is because of the investment and the participation from our
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  surrounding communities. Right now, our season looks like 5 mainstage
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  productions, sort of makes up our traditional season.
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  It includes mostly adult entertainment, but there can be some
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  blurring of lines in there. An example would be that our mainstage
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  season includes Company, which is an adult musical comedy,
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  but then it's followed by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in
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  the Christmas period. And, of course, that will be a participation from
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  adults and students, something fun that everybody recognizes Rudolph
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  from the television series. In the spring, we're offering To
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  Kill a Mockingbird and Fences. It's the first time for
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  us to offer 2 complementary productions
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  that have similar themes, but of course they're very different stories.
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  That will be in the spring. And then closing out the adult mainstage season
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  is Noises Off, which is a perennial favorite in the community theater
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  world. It's a hilarious comedy. That's what we need
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  these days. We all always need a little bit of comedy, but then
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  we have the Education Stage, which is where our students
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  get to participate in productions. That's also a part of our season.
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  So we'll have The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which should give you sort of campfire
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  tingles. We'll also be doing Hadestown Teen,
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  which is the teen edition of the big Hadestown popular musical.
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  We'll present that in the Dothan Opera House, and then we'll close out the student
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  season with Seussical Jr. next June. We are trying to
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  offer more and more opportunities for that participation
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  so people can be face-to-face with each other
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  and build something to be proud of and maybe put down our phones for a
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  little while and actually talk and sing and dance with each other. This is
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  a full season, but in addition, you have
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  an enormous project that will serve this community
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  we're talking about. Well, for the last 10 years,
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  it's been part of SEACT's strategic plan to relocate
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  our operations into a facility that was wholly owned and operated
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  by our organization. We have had an incredible 25
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  years. People are still finding us inside the Cultural Arts Center,
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  which is located in downtown But that chapter is coming
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  to a close as that organization makes plans for its future.
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  We have been working on a big construction project that is
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  the renovation of what some people call the historic Mack Building.
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  It is the first phase of a future downtown campus where
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  SEAC already owns property, and we already have a rehearsal hall on
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  that same block. So as we work on that
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  project, rehearsing in one space, and then also still have our performances and rehearsals
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  at the Cultural Arts Center. This involves a grant, of course, but aside
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  from that, it strikes me that this is an opportunity
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  for people to join this effort. We have such an incredible
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  history in this community, and we have really seen
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  over a quarter million people come through our audiences.
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  We've had thousands of people participate in the productions,
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  build the seasons, and put them together. So we have seen some
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  really precious memorial gifts, not only honoring
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  people who have been involved with us and have since passed, but also people
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  who are still involved and support this as a community
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  endeavor and not just a personal experience. They're all listed on
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  the website, and we do have large naming opportunities, but probably the most
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  accessible one is you can sponsor a seat in the new theater,
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  which I know is something that's familiar to a lot of people. A little
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  dedication plate can be very meaningful, and we have had a
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  lot of interest in people wanting to put their stamp on what
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  we call SEAC's next act. And I think it's so exciting
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  that you have opened that up to participation from your
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  listeners. And we have had a generous community
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  respond. Out of a $3 million project, we've raised
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  over $2 million of it. And I do think that that is people recognizing
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  the impact that SeeACT has in this entire
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  area, because I know people depend on us to have
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  intergenerational, intersocioeconomic experiences
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  with people that they would never meet otherwise. Also,
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  the impact in education, how we supplement and work with our
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  local schools, private and homeschool groups to provide
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  things that they may be missing. Our facilities
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  are active over 300 days a year.
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  SEAC has been a part of the culture of Southeast Alabama,
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  and we know that our community is happier and that
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  it goes to people's wellness and that they can participate no matter
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  their cognitive, physical status. We make room for everyone.
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  With the big project, what's the timeline? The foundation
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  is poured. We've had a groundbreaking. We are on a timeline to
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  get the project finished in early February. Our timeline
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  to actually begin activities there would be next summer.
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  We'd love to have our summer camps there, which have been enormously
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  popular, and a new space like that just adds to the excitement
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  and the interest. What is the website for more information?
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  Seact.com. That's S-E-A-C-T dot
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  com. We have our entire season posted there. And of course, we are in
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  a membership drive. We'd like to encourage people to support our
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  regular operations so we can always have a great season to present.
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  And then beyond that, there are very easy graphic links there to
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  take you to more information about the construction, the fundraising,
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  and how you can help. So can we get an update from
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  you shortly after the first of the year? I would love to provide one,
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  yes. And we will be planning our first activities in the new
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  facility. Jennifer, what a challenging year our '26-'27
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  will be, but look at what we get for all of
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  that effort. It's the excitement that keeps me going. I want to thank you for
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  your visit today. And again, give us the website for more information.
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  That's seact.com, S-E-A-C-T dot com.
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  And Carolyn, I just need to thank you for this opportunity to connect with
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  our tri-state area. Well, I am excited to have this chance
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  to salute SEAC and its commitment to the arts
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  and serving these communities. So thank you so much for all of
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  your efforts. Thank you, Carolyn. That was Jennifer Love Doherty,
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  Executive Director of SEAC. Thanks for joining us for
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  In Focus, which is a podcast wherever you get
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  your podcasts. Feel free to get in touch at infocus@troy.edu.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson, and this is listener-supported
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  Troy Public Radio.