The show must go on!

There’s an old adage in theater: “The show must go on.” On Sunday afternoon in Clarkesville, it did—even though the lights went out.

The Habersham Community Theater, along with the rest of downtown Clarkesville, lost power as a thunderstorm swept through the area, leaving the cast and audience members in the dark just before the scheduled performance.

When a nearly full house of patrons showed up for the 2 p.m. matinee of “Sense and Sensibility,” they found the whole theater blacked out from the storm. There was light in the lobby, spilling through the glass doorways, but the theater itself was nearly pitch black.

There were no lights—not on stage or in the house—and there was no air conditioning. The temperature in the windowless space was already starting to climb.

Director hatches ‘Plan B’

The director, Eva St. Clair, quickly conferred with her production crew and 19-member ensemble, and they hatched a plan.

Audience members would all receive refunds for their tickets, but those who wished to remain in the dark space could do so.  Most of the audience set off for home or other destinations, but about 30 hearty audience members remained-and the Austen story of yearning, romance, and social class embarked on its dramatic voyage.

“We knew we wanted to give the audience as much of a show as possible, even if that meant reading from the script in the dark,” St. Clair told Now Georgia. She called the show an “expression of joy and human connection.” Connecting with their audience is precisely what the HCT players chose to do.

“We’ve created something that’s incredibly sincere and from the heart, so we knew we had to perform even in such crazy circumstances!” she said. “The cast and crew are incredibly positive, hardworking, and open to these spontaneous moments that created such a fun and original experience for the audience and ourselves.”

HCT had the show, its last of six in the 2025-26 season, scheduled for four shows on each of two weekends, ending Sunday, August 9^th. Since the shows sell well, it’s not clear if audience members will be able to claim space in next weekend’s performances, but they’ll be refunded the value of their tickets if not.

Acting in the dark

A little after 2 p.m., the company, already in costume, took their seats on the stage and proceeded to act the play from their chairs, each performer standing when it was his or her turn to speak.  St. Clair, with a script on hand in a stage-right seat, chimed in to read stage directions and to set the scene, and the actors, ranging in age from teens to senior citizens, made their way through the play.

Without electricity to run the microphones, audience members drew closer to the stage so they coulud hear as the actors relied on old-fashioned vocal projection to fill the room. Nobody missed a beat as they brought the sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, their suitors and nemeses to life.

The play, in part, is about perseverance and adhering to one’s true principles. On Sunday, the Dashwoods and the actors who played them did just that.

Next HCT offerings

Remaining tickets for the current show, if any, can be had through the HCT website.  On August 23^rd, the theater company will begin selling season tickets for next season’s six shows, beginning with “The Spitfire Grill” at the end of September, and closing with “Death by Chocolate” in August 2027, with “She Loves Me,” “Peter Pan and Wendy,” “The Hiding Place,” and “Cinderella” in between.

All six shows are almost certainly guaranteed to have stage lighting throughout.