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Live theatrical performances are returning to Johnson City after a long dry spell.

The new group, the Second Act Troupe, has built enough of a successful track record on their home turf of San Marcos and Wimberley that they are taking their act on the road...and Johnson City is one of the stops.

Their opening show here will be 7 PM Saturday, May 30, on the stage at the First United Methodist Church.

Organizer Allan Eastwood, a veteran amateur performer in community theaters, said he noticed that the plays just didn’t seem to suit actors and actresses as they...um...became more “seasoned”.

“Seasoned, my foot,” said Eastwood. “We got old. All of us are 55 or better. We didn’t fit the plays the playhouses wanted to do and the roles didn’t fit us. When’s the last time you saw a 60-year-old hero or heroine?

“Besides, it’s a lot of work memorizing lines for a three-act show, especially as our memories become more “seasoned”, too.”

That’s why the troupe does short pieces, sketches and one-act plays, mostly comedies, and stitches enough of them together to fill an evening’s schedule. It means a player only has to prepare for a third of the show or less, rather than carrying the whole thing. And if someone gets sick, replacing the person or piece is easier.

Unlike the more ambitious stagings done even by community theaters, the Second Act Troupe operates on a piece of a shoestring.

“We charge just enough to cover our costs,” Eastwood explained, “and since nobody’s getting paid, we often have some left over to leave with a local charity wherever we perform.”

“The church is delighted to host the players,” said 1st UMC Pastor Sid Spiller. “We already have the city’s movie theater, and now we have live theater, too. It’s good for the community to have such entertainment opportunities.”

So what’s on the first night’s marquee for Johnson City?

“We’ll announce that when the whole schedule settles down,” Eastwood promised. “But I guarantee you’ll laugh your head off.”