When a show ends at the Richmond Community Theater it’s the end of a long run for the actors, director, stage crew and various volunteers who helped with things like the box office, ushering, lights and costumes.

But when the lights go down on the final performance, the work is just beginning for the director who has another show to prepare for.

Immediately following a show, RCT Director Mark Colbenson said the first thing to be done is the striking of the set. Everything has to be dismantled and put back into storage. Any props or set pieces that were borrowed are returned and the stage is returned to the bare bones so he has a clean canvas to start over with.

Once the set has been dismantled, Colbenson said it’s a big job for him and theater volunteers is to clean the theater. The green room (dressing room/makeup area) has to be cleaned and organized and it can take as little as a few hours or a few days, depending on the show.

Before auditions for the next RCT show, “Steel Magnolias” Colbenson and the theater’s board members and volunteers are working on repainting the green room.

They started a big painting project last spring with the painting of the theater itself, then painted the main lobby and put down new carpet, then moved into the second lobby to paint to brighten things up.

“It just had that dingy 1970s look,” Colbenson said.

And now, because there was enough time between the closing of “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” and auditions for “Steel Magnolias” Colbenson and his crew are working on the back of the theater painting the walls of the green room and going through old costumes.

“It’s being done by board members and volunteers,” Colbenson said of the whole cleanup project. “It’s part of the whole community theater thing. It’s a good way to keep people involved. It wouldn’t happen without them.”

“It is Richmond Community Theater,” said theater board president Merrie Dawkins. “It belongs to the community, which is everyone in Richmond County, so you don’t have to be an actor and be on stage. You don’t have to be a specific gift or talent. You can come down and help clean or help paint, or help move furniture, or just all different kinds of things. We want the board members involved, but also volunteers and that can be anybody. It’s an important part and great for people to feel a part of something. When you’re giving of yourself to an organization or group, you feel like a part of you is invested in it. We want the community to feel like it’s their theater and that they’ve gone and helped in whatever way they can.”

Once the cleanup is finished, Colbenson and his crew will begin bringing in pieces to construct the set for “Steel Magnolias.”

“It’s different this time because typically I do it all myself, but because of my knee the way it is, I’m pretty useless so I have to get volunteers in here,” Colbenson said.

He injured his knee during the Thanksgiving holiday and will soon have surgery to repair it.

“It’s a big set,” he added. “We’ve got to build a full box set and have a raised platform. We have to do it in bits and pieces so we’re trying to start as early as we can. Hopefully we’ll get things started the first of February. We’ll need all the volunteers we can get to help haul, paint and adjust lighting.

“It’s good for the volunteer base and it takes me out of my comfort zone,” he said. “It’ll be harder on me than anyone else, but it’s probably what I should do more of to get more people involved.”

Having directed “Steel Magnolias” twice before, Colbenson said he’s excited to be doing it again.

“It’s one of my favorite stories because it’s the first play I ever directed,” Colbenson said. “I took the job before I even knew what I was directing. It was my first chance to direct. I got a call to direct a show I said, sure, and when I went down to the theater I asked which show it was and they told me it was “Steel Magnolias” and I said, ‘Oh no.’

“I don’t like the movie,” he explained. “The play is much better. The play is marvelous and I just fell in love with it.”

Though he’s excited, Colbenson said he was a little leery of doing the show at RCT because it’s never been done on that stage before.

“But I know the volunteer base is excited about it and we’re expecting a huge turnout at auditions, which will be exciting to have lots to choose from, but in the end I’ll probably disappoint a lot of people,” Colbenson said. “I look forward to it though, it’s a fun show.”

Auditions are still three weeks away though, and Colbenson said it’s a busy time for him.

“From my standpoint, you move from one show to another and think about sets and lights, what can I do, what can’t I do ... we’re not the biggest theater or the most up to date, so there are some things we can’t pull off,” he said. “I will spend the next few weeks figuring out the blocking, then trying to get the word out for auditions. Basically it’s just a busy time getting ready for rehearsal.

“We usually have a five-week rehearsal period, so the first rehearsal is a read-through and I’ve got to have the blocking ready and a good idea of the set so we can map it all out on stage.

“There’s not a whole lot of downtime between shows, it’s pretty much an ongoing process,” he said. “For an actor it’s interesting because when you get done with a show that’s kind of it and you’re stuck wondering ‘what do I do now,’ and sometimes you can revel in what was, but as a director, you’ve got to move on the next show. It’s good because it keeps you busy, but you don’t always get to enjoy the show as much as you’d like because you’re moving on to the next thing.”

Dawkins, an actress by passion and nature, has been on both sides of the stage throughout her involvement with RCT, and whether she’s cast in a show or not, you can always find her at the theater.

“I think when you do different things in theater, or in anything, and take on different aspects of what make it what it is, you have a better understanding and appreciation for it,” she said. “I think it’s very important. I thoroughly enjoy being on stage, I think it’s great. My adrenaline gets going and it’s fun to be another person, but it’s also fun to help with costumes, makeup, props or anything that has to do with what makes the play a play. I think it’s very special and important. I would love for people to enjoy that part of it. Maybe you don’t ever want to be on stage, but you may find your niche making costumes, helping with makeup, set building, whatever. Its just fun and it makes each one of us appreciate what the other one does.”

To find about the ways you can help backstage, before, during and after “Steel Magnolias” call the theater at (910) 997-3765.

Auditions for “Steel Magnolias” are Feb. 15-16 from 6:30-9 p.m. at Richmond Community Theater, located at 111 E. Washington St., Rockingham.

Staff writer Eren Tataragasi can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 19 or at etataragasi@yourdailyjournal.com.