ABOUT CLAMOUR

Our mission is to inspire and nurture a love of theatre in northeast Florida, to bring professional productions into Clay County on a regular basis, and to contribute to the cultural and economic growth of our community. We will produce live theatrical productions of both new and classic works of the highest quality, and we will work to support and train aspiring theatre artists of all ages, genders, races and ethnicities.

Everyone’s Story is Important.

We want yours.

Diversity fuels creativity and strengthens our impact. We are committed to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience. Everyone is welcome in our audiences, in our offices, and on our stages.

Safety and respect in our working environment is of paramount importance. We strive to follow all safety guidelines of both Actors Equity Association and the Chicago Standards for non-union theatre artists. In the event of a discrepancy between the two sets of guidelines, we choose the more stringent. Special care is taken when working with minor actors.  All our volunteers, staff, artists, audiences, and vendors deserve no less.

  • Founded in 2017, the Clamour Theatre Company made its first public appearance at Pitch in the Park, where it won second place pitching its plan to raise the funds to acquire the historic Clay Theatre in downtown Green Cove Springs as its artistic home.
  • Our first theatrical event, an evening of readings for The Future is Female Festival took place in March 2017. Five northeast Florida playwrights and a group of local actors presented five new ten-minute plays to a “sold-out” crowd at Spring Park Coffee in Green Cove Springs.
  • And, in April 2017, Clamour Theatre Company became a proud member of Cultural Fusion, a collective advancing collaboration among the arts and cultural organizations in our community. | www.CulturalFusionJax.com
  • The Urban Bean Coffehouse Cafe was host to 5@7, another evening of ten-minute plays, by writers from around the country in June of 2017.
  • In July 2017, Clamour was asked to create a one-man play for the River Park Inn’s 20th anniversary celebration. Passing the Baton, based on the life of Dr. Joseph Applegate, a notable historic figure in Green Cove Springs, was performed to a “sold-out” crowd on the porch of the Inn which had been his home at the end of his life, It was revived in August for a tour group from St. Augustine.
  • We brought Madame Clamoura to Christmas on Walnut where she told fortunes, and we gave juggling lessons to passersby at this annual street fair.
  • 2018 found Clamour regrouping after the loss of the Clay Theatre to a rival buyer. The new owners, however, donated all 314 deluxe theatre seats to Clamour. They were disassembled and moved into climate-controlled storage pending relocation to a new home.
  • Clamour’s Artistic Director and several Board members participated in the leadership training offered by the Reinhold Foundation to Clay County nonprofits in January and March.
  • The porch play, Passing the Baton received three additional presentations throughout the year. Another evening of ten minute plays was done in April at the Courtyard by Marriott. The play, Old Ladies Who Lunch was presented to the Shepherd’s Center of Orange Park that same month, and a developmental reading of full-length The Memories of Ruby Mae, by Jacksonville playwright Olivia Gowan went up at the Stage at NAPA.
  • Plans were formulated for our first annual playwrights’ retreat, and we were notified that the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida approved our grant request for funding the retreat. Applications were reviewed, and five playwrights from all over the U.S.(plus one local writer) were selected to participate in Clay & Water 2019.
  • The search for a permanent artistic home continues! Please check our the archive links on our Events page for further history.

Please scroll down for information on our Producing Artistic Director, our Board of Directors, and our Advisory Board.

MISSION

Our mission is to inspire and nurture a love of theatre in northeast Florida, to bring professional productions into Clay County on a regular basis, and to contribute to the cultural and economic growth of our community. We will produce live theatrical productions of both new and classic works of the highest quality, and we will work to support and train aspiring theatre artists of all ages, genders, races and ethnicities.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Everyone’s Story is Important.

We want yours.

Diversity fuels creativity and strengthens our impact. We are committed to inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience. Everyone is welcome in our audiences, in our offices, and on our stages.

HISTORY

  • Founded in 2017, the Clamour Theatre Company made its first public appearance at Pitch in the Park, where it won second place pitching its plan to raise the funds to acquire the historic Clay Theatre in downtown Green Cove Springs as its artistic home.
  • Our first theatrical event, an evening of readings for The Future is Female Festival took place in March 2017. Five northeast Florida playwrights and a group of local actors presented five new ten-minute plays to a “sold-out” crowd at Spring Park Coffee in Green Cove Springs.
  • And, in April 2017, Clamour Theatre Company became a proud member of Cultural Fusion, a collective advancing collaboration among the arts and cultural organizations in our community. | www.CulturalFusionJax.com
  • The Urban Bean Coffehouse Cafe was host to 5@7, another evening of ten-minute plays, by writers from around the country in June of 2017.
  • In July 2017, Clamour was asked to create a one-man play for the River Park Inn’s 20th anniversary celebration. Passing the Baton, based on the life of Dr. Joseph Applegate, a notable historic figure in Green Cove Springs, was performed to a “sold-out” crowd on the porch of the Inn which had been his home at the end of his life, It was revived in August for a tour group from St. Augustine.
  • We brought Madame Clamoura to Christmas on Walnut where she told fortunes, and we gave juggling lessons to passersby at this annual street fair.
  • 2018 found Clamour regrouping after the loss of the Clay Theatre to a rival buyer. The new owners, however, donated all 314 deluxe theatre seats to Clamour. They were disassembled and moved into climate-controlled storage pending relocation to a new home.
  • Clamour’s Artistic Director and several Board members participated in the leadership training offered by the Reinhold Foundation to Clay County nonprofits in January and March.
  • The porch play, Passing the Baton received three additional presentations throughout the year. Another evening of ten minute plays was done in April at the Courtyard by Marriott. The play, Old Ladies Who Lunch was presented to the Shepherd’s Center of Orange Park that same month, and a developmental reading of full-length The Memories of Ruby Mae, by Jacksonville playwright Olivia Gowan went up at the Stage at NAPA.
  • Plans were formulated for our first annual playwrights’ retreat, and we were notified that the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida approved our grant request for funding the retreat. Applications were reviewed, and five playwrights from all over the U.S.(plus one local writer) were selected to participate in Clay & Water 2019.
  • And, the search for a permanent artistic home continues!

PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Elaine Smith

ELAINE SMITH is the founder and Artistic Director of the Clamour Theatre Company. An actor, director, and playwright, Elaine’s roots in Clay County run deep. A granddaughter of Hazel Cartwright, the first employee of the Clay County Library system, and niece of Milford Cartwright, long-time owner of the Brown & Cartwright Ace Hardware in Green Cove Springs, Elaine remembers seeing the county from the passenger seat of the bookmobile, Saturdays spent at the Clay Theatre, and afternoons at Spring Park. After more than 20 years in NYC as a small business owner and theatre professional, she has returned to the area and plans for a small professional theatre company making its artistic home in Clay County. Elaine is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, and the Dramatists Guild. She is a former member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and of the producing mentorship program of Theatre Resources Unlimited (TRU). She has directed regionally and in New York, and is the author of the award-winning play, Angels and Ministers of Grace, among others.  You can reach Elaine via email at esmith@clamourtheatre.org or by phoning 917-902-7210.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Pat Garlinghouse

PAT SICKLES GARLINGHOUSE

Paula Hilton

PAULA HILTON

Cheryl Kennedy

Tanya Lea

TANYA LEA

Bruce McIntosh

BRUCE MCINTOSH

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SHANNON MILLER

MERRIE WILNER

ADVISORY BOARD

Clamour Theatre Company is fortunate to have an Advisory Board of experts in business and theatre. We are grateful to these very generous people for giving us the benefit of their advice and expertise–and for always being at the other end of the phone!

SuzAnne Barabas | director, Founder/Artistic Director, New Jersey Repertory Company
Sam Bellinger | Finance Director, Second Stage Theatre, NYC
Jan Buttram | playwright, Founder/Artistic Director Emeritus, Abingdon Theatre Company
Tony Coretto | Founder/Managing Partner (ret.), PNT Marketing Services, Inc.
Dr. Cheryl Gonzalez| President, North Florida Summit Investors, LLC
Ana Grogan | former Clay County Consultant, Florida Small Business Development Center (FSBDC) and Founder/Past President, The Hispanic Institute for Life and Learning (The H.I.L.L.)
Sandra Royal | Founder/Chair, CalaVida Music and Arts Festival