Artistic community grows in Mountain Brook

More than 80 years ago, Deanny Hardy’s mother started Steeple Arts Academy of Dance. She wanted to create an artistic community in Mountain Brook that extended beyond dance. So when Hardy heard that Central Alabama Theater was looking for a new location, she quickly volunteered the Mountain Brook dance studio.

After working in Los Angeles as a television actor for 14 years, Gardendale native Carl Peoples returned to Birmingham and started CAT, making his dream of owning a nonprofit theater company a reality in the same community that first inspired that dream.

In its first year, CAT put on 13 productions, which included full-length plays and New York-style cabarets. However, it became difficult to find available nights for shows, which forced them to look for a new venue.

“This area is a supportive community,” Peoples said. “They understand the importance of not only performing arts, but all arts in their community, and that’s how you really build a well-balanced community.”

The appearance of the old-time church building inspired the selection of the first play CAT performed at Steeple Arts: “Smoke on the Mountain”, which tells the story of a Saturday Night Gospel Sing at a 1938 Baptist church in the Smoky Mountains. 

CAT will continue their bimonthly cabarets, featuring professionals from across the country.

“It’s going to be a groovy night out,” he said. “Come in, have a glass of wine or a soft drink and listen to some great music and have access to some really great talent.”

Peoples said he plans to bring in actors he met while working in LA and New York for classes and performances.

“You can sit down and have a class with someone who performs on Broadway. That’s huge,” he said. “When I was growing up, you used to have to pack a bag and uproot yourself to even see if you were good enough to be in this business.” 

Mark Cabus, who most recently appeared in the movie “Selma,” will perform his one-man show of “A Christmas Carol” Dec. 20-22. 

“I’ve been really lucky to have seen and done some really great things with some really talented people, and if I can bring that experience and some of those people back here to share with my home and my community, then I think we’re all better for it,” he said.

Peoples said he still remembers standing in Tarrant High School’s new 875-seat theater as a freshman, feeling a strange sense of being home. Now, back in his hometown, he is grateful for the opportunity to educate and inspire others.

“It’s come full circle that now I have the opportunity to do some of the things that inspired me,” he said. “When you get in a community that understands and supports the arts, you have a really cool marriage, and there’s success, both for the community and for the nonprofit that’s bringing those opportunities.”

Hardy said he is glad to unite the two companies.

“Years ago, my mom had a vision of this being a center for the arts, not just dance,” she said. “We think it’s great for the community. It makes the arts accessible for everyone.”