In Preproduction

Standing at 6 feet, 3 inches, and with an energetic personality to match, EMILY GRAHAM is a natural standout. Throughout her life, she often felt like a misfit – but a constant refuge has been the welcoming world of theater.

“I just never really fit,” Graham says. “I never really felt like I fit anywhere, but I always fit in theater, always.”

After more than a decade of involvement in Wilmington’s theatrical community, Graham, who has lived in Hampstead for the past fifteen years, is thrilled to bring theater to her hometown with Untitled Theatre Productions.

When she first moved to Hampstead, she asked neighbors about theater opportunities in town. People expressed the desire to start a company, she says. Years passed.

“Nobody ever did it,” Graham recalls. “I’m tired of waiting, and I’m just going to do it myself.”

Late this summer, Graham approached members of Pender County Parks and Recreation and Pender Arts Council about starting a theater company. They were receptive, she says, and suggested that she hold an interest meeting.

“One hundred people showed up, and it was amazing, and everyone is just gushing with excitement,” Graham says, adding that the interested ranks include a playwright, set and costume designers, a choreographer, a music director, and even an Elvis impersonator. “In Hampstead, there is so much talent here that’s just untapped because people don’t want to make the trek (to Wilmington),” she says.

Pender County is offering the nonprofit theater company – which runs purely on volunteer work – performance space at the 240-seat Hampstead Annex Theatre in the county government annex building on Highway 17. The company’s inaugural production is slated to be A Hometown Holiday, a music revue that will feature songs, dancing, and a few acting vignettes. Shows will run December 15, 16, and 17, and tickets will cost $15.

“All of the money that goes into tickets goes right back to the theater,” Graham says.

A Chicago native, Graham made her directorial debut at age eight with a neighborhood production of Annie. She graduated from the University of Iowa as a theater major, and while her career has not always been theater-related, her work has continually revolved around improving mental health, which she believes is a vital aspect of theater.

“I’m a mental health therapist, and I have seen how this impacts people’s mental health for the better,” Graham says. “Attending or being a part of it onstage or backstage … you’re building something together, and that’s a real mental boost for sure.”

The social and mental benefits of theater drive her to bring the art to Hampstead, she says. “My theater family here in Wilmington, they are just some of my very best friends and fully my community, and I want to create that for other people,” Graham says.

Her vision for the future of Untitled Theatre Productions includes becoming a fully functional theater company, in association with Pender County, and annually producing two full-length adult musicals and a children’s musical. Graham also hopes to expand with theater camps and classes. “That would be the ultimate dream,” she says.

Outside of theater, Graham, who has been a clinical mental health therapist for fifteen years, works full time as director of campus engagement at Uwill, a group that works with colleges and universities to bring mental health support to students. Before joining Uwill, she spent six years at the online Western Governors University, where she taught faculty about social-emotional learning and how to infuse the concept into student resources.

Additionally, next year Graham is directing Steel Magnolias and the children’s Rookie production of Madagascar at Thalian Association.

She’s also a single mother of five, whose ages range from eight to twenty-one. All have been involved in theater, she says, including a teenage daughter who does professional acting.

“People will often be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you have so much going on, how do you do it all?’” Graham says. “And I always say, it if matters, you make it happen. My kids matter, my job matters, mental health matters, and my gosh, theater matters. It matters more than just performing for accolades – it matters because it makes people feel good, and it’s creating art and community. I will never not have time for that.”

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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