Dominic Gillette is THRILLED to have the opportunity to play the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in this production. He has played numerous roles including Seaweed in Hairspray, Jim in Big River, & Creon in Antigone. This show is helping him as an actor by teaching him to take on bigger challenges and to always [...]

Sonja Moore – (Mother) – Joins The WordPlayers for the first time.  Sonja grew up in the area and has been performing from a young age. She currently sings with a Southern Gospel Group and performs dramas through her church.  She’s married and has two sons, one who just graduated High School and the other [...]

John is a first-timer with The WordPlayers. A founding member of Foothills Community Players in Maryville and a graduate of UT’s Theatre program, his favorite recent roles include Harold Hill (Music Man) and Tito (Lend Me a Tenor) with FCP. He is an Air Force retiree living with wife, Melanie, and daughter, Alex. 1. We [...]

About a year ago, in April of 2011, The WordPlayers produced SHADOWLANDS, William Nicholson’s moving play about the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman.  It proved to be an extraordinary experience for many people.  Below, Anne Millett, who masterfully directed our production, reflects on SHADOWLANDS plus one year. “When Terry first asked if I’d [...]

Jill Lagerberg is the director of Knoxville Christian Arts Ministries, a performing arts outreach ministry of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, that integrates music, drama, and dance to proclaim the gospel of Christ, primarily in prisons and inner city areas. It has 90 members from 26 Knox-area churches. Jill loves to work with choirs of all [...]

Leann Dickson has had a dream of bringing the Greater Knoxville community together through a musical theatre production. She wanted to unite theatre professionals and up and coming artists; plus, she was looking for a way to bring together alumni from her Bearden High program with current students. The WordPlayers is thrilled to support this [...]

Artistic Director Terry Weber and Managing Director Jeni Lamm of The WordPlayers answer some tough questions regarding the upcoming summer musical, Ragtime. Question 1: Your website indicates that Ragtime is rated PG13 for “some violence, mild profanity and adult themes.” This show seems like a very odd choice for a company of Christian theatre artists. [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about justice lately. In the NIV translation, Amos 5:24 reads, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” It’s a powerful, uplifting verse in the middle of very disturbing passage.  In the verses immediately before and after, God, is telling His people that He hates [...]

In the NIV translation, Micah 6:8 says: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I suspect that in that passage, God was speaking to people in general and not only to actors. But as an actor, I’m struck by the phrase [...]

An actor steps onto a darkened stage. In moments, a soft light transforms the stage into a living room on a winter afternoon. The audience joins the actors by actively participating in the remembering of a story. Drama literally means action. In a drama, someone’s memory takes form through the action of the body. The [...]