New London Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" looms in the near future, and it looks to be fun and entertaining, but a peek behind the curtain at the theatre's work reveals what hard work goes into each and every show.

John Berlo, the theatre's publicity and marketing director, loves what he does and he better -- his wife is chairman of the board, and his daughter works in the theatre, too.

"We're all involved," he says. "My wife even acts in some of the shows." In fact, she's just come off stage in the production of what is being billed as "The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of 'A Christmas Carol.' " Dawn Berlo played Mercedes Smith, the American in the cast of "British" actors. The actors, of course, were not British at all, but their accents rang true and talented, especially for community theatre.

For three and a half years, the company has been located on Main Street. The first show was "Godspell" in January 2007, but the organization has been in business for more than 11 years.

Berlo says they have actors involved who run the gamut of talent. "We have some really good people – good actors – that work with us," he says. He adds that even those who are too shy or timid to be onstage have found ways to be involved in each production.

"When we did 'The Secret Garden,' some of the more shy players were ghosts in the plague, giving them an opportunity to act and actually be on stage," Berlo says. "Since we are a community theatre and not a professional theatre, we can try to include people that are actually in the community in our shows."

That can include help backstage, too, with those who help change sets and change clothes and makeup for actors who are on stage.

Being a nonprofit organization has its challenges, too. Berlo says they've had to be creative with their choices of sets. And, working with a bare bones budget and a back stage basically the size of a galley kitchen, they get it done.

"We've used scrap wood and Styrofoam for a lot of the sets," he says. "We basically just use whatever we've got, but it really depends on the show." For example, they found a local high school girl who wanted to help, so they gave her some paint and large pieces of canvas to create the cornfield in their production of "The Wizard of Oz." Berlo says it's this kind of help that keeps them afloat.

"It's incredibly expensive to run this place," he says. "Not only are  you putting on a show, but you're getting the rights to do it, which can run up to $150 a show." And, he says that it makes a nine show run cost about $3,000. It can cost more when the show is one like the upcoming "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," with a large cast, meaning more scripts. He adds that ticket sales usually help a lot.

In 2011, the Berlo says they'll fight harder for the grants they depend on to survive and look for any opportunities that they can to get out in the community to spread the word about the theatre and get donations.

"We've been growing with the community," he says "We're a part of the cultural arts and feel like we're a key piece of the growing of Snellville."

New London Theatre
2485 Main Street East, SW
Snellville, GA  30078
770-559-1484

information@newlondontheatre.org