Published: March 11, 2008 10:59 pm            

Passion on stage

Joey Parrott dedicated to Dalton Little Theatre

Joey Parrott’s first local theater performance was memorable in more ways than one. The year was 1975, and the play was “The Fantastiks,” performed by the Dalton Little Theatre. The venue was Prater’s Mill. Parrott essayed the role of Mortimer.

“I was a college student at the time,” Parrott recalled. “It was a dinner theater format. Patrons had dinner in an old house across the street from Prater’s Mill. After dinner, everyone got up and walked across the road to the Mill for the outdoor performance. I had, and have, never experienced anything like it.”

Parrott notes that the local theater scene, an active one, flourishes because of the many creative people living here. People come together to present theater for those they know and to support artists they know.

“Dalton is a cosmopolitan small town, mainly because of the influence of the carpet industry,” said Parrott. “An abundance of talented people from all around the world converged here, and their ideals and their art found outlets.”

When Parrott first joined forces with the Dalton Little Theatre, the organization, although established, never knew exactly where it was going to put on its next show.

“We did a lot of dinner theater shows in hotel restaurants, and performed in the now non-existent Old Thornton Auditorium,” said Parrott. “We finally found a permanent home when the Creative Arts Guild relocated to Waugh Street in the early 1980s. Dalton Little Theatre moved into the Old Fire House on Pentz Street, and we have been there ever since.”

“Just before moving into the Old Fire House, DLT had performed a run of ‘Godspell’ at the now-demolished old Presbyterian Church,” said Parrott. “We took the concrete blocks and the platforms used for temporary seating at the church, moved them across town, and built our own seating in the Fire Hall. The first performance in the Fire House was ‘Equus,’ and I played the character of a horse.”

With limited seating, DLT’s venue provides patrons with an intimate alternative to larger theaters. The ambiance is comfortable and intimate, allowing for an up-close and personal experience with the performers. This is a hallmark of the organization, which bills itself as one of the oldest community theaters in Georgia, founded originally in 1869. In its 139-year history, Dalton Little Theatre has provided entertainment through hundreds of productions performed for thousands of local residents, a couple of hundred at a time. According to Parrott, a passion for performing and a love of the arts keeps the organization successful.

“The theater venue’s official name is ‘The Janice Meadows Theater,’ home of Dalton Little Theatre located in the Old Fire House,” said Parrott. “The theater is dedicated to Janice Meadows, a long-time drama and theater teacher who taught in the Dalton Public Schools and gave thousands of area students their first taste of the performing arts.”

Parrott noted that Bill and Emily Davies, local theater patriarchs, were instrumental in restarting the Dalton Little Theatre in the 1950s. In fact, Parrott says, the Theatre’s annual awards, the William B. Davies Awards, are named in Davies’ honor. They are affectionately known as the “Billys.” Janice Meadows, Bill Davies and Emily Davies served as mentors to a generation of thespians.

One fellow actor in particular was a huge influence on Parrott.

“Keith McDearis was a genius in the arts,” said Parrott. “He arrived on the local arts scene in Dalton in 1978 with a splash. He had the ability, the spark, to put things together and make things happen. His vision and his talent were enormous.”

McDearis is missed. Sadly, he passed away suddenly in 2005. Each August, the DLT awards the Keith McDearis Musical Theater Scholarship to an area high school senior or college freshman majoring in the arts or musical theater. The award winner is announced in the spring, and the award presentation coincides with the annual Dalton Little Theatre “Billys” in August.

Parrott currently serves as the treasurer of the Dalton Little Theatre. He has been on the organization’s board for nearly two decades, including stints as president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. It clearly is an organization that he is passionate about.

“Dalton Little Theatre delivers productions that run the gamut from sweet, innocent, simple productions to those with cutting-edge, thought-provoking themes,” said Parrott. “Committed, talented artists and activists that support the arts locally keep our local theater scene vibrant. In fact, it’s one of this community’s traditions.”

When asked to recall his favorite roles, Parrott hesitates, if only for a moment, to put them in proper order.

“I was the nerd in ‘The Nerd,’” he said. “It was a funny, funny character, both in terms of dialogue and in its physical comedy. I was Judas the first time I acted in ‘Godspell,’ and the next time I portrayed Jesus. I also enjoyed the part of Detective Stone in ‘City of Angels.’ One other favorite was the role of lead narrator in ‘The Fantastiks,’ a decade after my first performance in the play.”

Parrott was born in Chatsworth and today resides in Dalton. He never really ventured far because, he says, he never had to.

“For me, there really is no place like home,” said Parrott, who finds Dalton inspiring. “I love to travel and see the world, but I also love to come home. This location is ideal — I can be in Chattanooga in 30 minutes or in Atlanta in an hour and a half. Things are easier, simpler and get accomplished much faster here. I enjoy the slower pace, the friendly people, and the close-knit feel of this town filled with great talents. I don’t know why everybody doesn’t want to live here.”

Like most local performers, Parrott has a day job. He is the vice president, Wachovia at Work, at Wachovia Bank in Dalton, and he’s been with the bank for 25 years. Parrott majored in theater and communications at Shorter College in Rome. He is perhaps best known professionally for his work with the “Fun Club,” a travel club group of bank customers that he escorts on trips to exotic locales.

“I have been around the world literally twice,” said Parrott. “My all-time favorite spot is New Zealand, where I bungee-jumped with three senior adults traveling with me.”

Parrott also notes that cruising the Nile was awe-inspiring, along with a meal of wild game enjoyed on safari in Kenya. He even admits to sampling grub worms in China.

They were cooked, he claims. He recently returned from Sicily, where he was honing his skills as an up-and-coming wine connoisseur.

He doesn’t do it for fame, glory or money, but Parrott lends his time and talent to make sure the show does go on in Dalton.

        

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