Old Colony Players' new executive director said she wants to take the group to the next level

Corie Schreiber’s first day of work was a flurry of sticky notes as she jotted down names and contact information, things that needed doing immediately, and things that needed to be done in the future.

Almost a month later, Schreiber has mostly settled into her office. What hasn’t settled is the dust.

As the Old Colony Players’ new executive director, Schreiber has done everything in the last month from selling tickets and designing playbills to drafting the group’s annual giving letter — a task she took a short break from to discuss her plans for Valdese’s theater group.

“My main goal is to bring Old Colony Players to the next level. I want to produce and cast shows that people are excited about,” Schreiber said. “I know people are … excited about ‘Cinderella’ that we’re doing next year, they’re excited about our kids shows that we’re doing next year, but my goal is to have a season where they’re excited about every single show that we’re doing, and we don’t have any … filler shows.”

Another goal, Schreiber said, is to forge strong bonds with other theater groups in the region.

“It doesn’t have to be us versus them,” Schreiber said. “We can all collaborate, and we can help each other out and support each other.”

Schreiber said that although she has not worked for other theater companies in the past, she was involved in theater when she attended Lenoir-Rhyne University. Plus, Schreiber said she is an avid theatergoer and has attended numerous shows staged by community theaters throughout the region.

After breaking her leg in June, Schreiber said she began looking for new jobs during recovery. She earned a master’s degree in leadership from Lenoir-Rhyne University in May and sought a position where she could use it.

Schreiber said she saw the job opening on the online job board Indeed and thought it sounded like the perfect position. She officially started the job on Oct. 6.

“Theater is so important because it gives people confidence,” Schreiber said. “You always hear things about how, like, sports gives kids confidence and sports teaches kids teamwork. Theater does the same thing. It gives people confidence to be able to get up and speak in front of a crowd. It gives people confidence to mess up, laugh about it, and then keep going.”

Schreiber encourages everyone to see the Old Colony Players production “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!” in December.

“I watched auditions, and some of the local children, (their) talent is amazing,” Schreiber said. “But more importantly, what I saw during auditions was not so much the super talented people, it was the younger, less experienced children and the older, more experienced children who helped them along the way.”

Schreiber said watching the kids audition showed her what community theater is all about.

“It’s not about being the best,” Schreiber said. “I know that they were auditioning and they were competing for parts, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like … everybody rises with the tide.”