The Lake Country Players: Community Theater in Downtown Greensboro
Live Theater, Right Here in Lake Country
You don't have to drive to Atlanta for a good night of live theater. The Lake Country Players brings full-scale productions, from Southern comedies to Broadway musicals, to Festival Hall on Main Street in Downtown Greensboro, just minutes from home. Whether you're looking for a fun night out, a place to reconnect with neighbors, or a stage where your own talents can shine, LCP has built exactly that: a community theater that feels like family and performs like a professional house.
Fifteen Years of Homegrown Theater Magic
From Patio Furniture to Broadway
LCP's story started small, literally. In 2011, a notice in The Breeze announced a new theater company forming under founding Artistic Director John Copelan. The troupe's first production, The Dixie Swim Club, went up at Festival Hall with no microphones and a set built from a board member's patio furniture. It didn't matter. Audiences showed up, loved it, and the company, then called The Greene County Players, never looked back, growing to stage two to five productions a year.
A New Name, A Bigger Stage
In December 2015, the company incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit and took the name Lake Country Players, reflecting a troupe and audience that had grown well beyond Greene County to draw from across the lake region. Along the way, LCP added microphones, upgraded lighting, and in 2012 launched Tasties, Toddies & Theatrics, a dinner theater series pairing a one-act comedy with a cabaret of Broadway songs.
Leadership That Keeps Raising the Bar
Three artistic directors have shaped LCP's growth: founder John Copelan, known for building sets so striking that audiences audibly gasped when the curtain opened; Carolyn Fears, who expanded the season with beloved Southern comedies; and current Artistic Director Maureen Brower, who has pushed the company into large-scale Broadway musicals like Big Fish, LCP's first and, most recently, Come From Away. Under this leadership, LCP has kept a simple standard: whatever the show, do it better than the last one.
What to Expect at Festival Hall
LCP performs at Festival Hall in Downtown Greensboro, an intimate 192-seat venue with round-table seating and a state-of-the-art sound system, there's genuinely not a bad seat in the house. The season typically runs two to five productions, ranging from classic comedies and murder mysteries to full Broadway musicals, all performed by a cast and crew of local volunteers who show up because they love it.
Get Involved
See a show. Check the current season and grab tickets before they go - popular productions sell out.
Become a donor. As a 501(c)3, LCP depends on more than ticket sales to cover the real cost of putting on a show: venue rental, royalties, sound and lighting technicians, sets, and costumes. Donor levels start at $25, with benefits ranging from early ticket access to invitations to the Shakespeare Society's signature "A Midsummer Night's Dream" event for gifts of $1,000 and up.
Get on stage or backstage. LCP welcomes new actors, crew, and volunteers of all ages and experience levels, including a growing number of younger performers helping carry community theater into its next generation.
