The Railway Arts Guild (R.A.G.) formed in 2022 and focuses on bringing several performance and entertainment opportunities each year to the Counties of Escambia, Baldwin, and Monroe in Alabama and Escambia County Florida. The four-county area in Southwest Alabama and Northwest Florida has proven to be fertile ground for quality performers and R.A.G. Time plans to provide opportunities for this talent to be developed and showcased.
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Central to the repertoire of this new group will be high-quality musicals, classic and new plays featuring children, youth, and adults of all ages in an inclusive and safe environment and workshops in all aspects of music, theater, and visual arts.
The Board of Directors includes both experienced professionals and exciting new talent, providing leadership that promises professional quality work with an openness to new ideas.
CEO
Phil, who hails from the Murfreesboro, TN area, has over 50 years of experience in the Theatre Arts. After graduating from Belmont University, he continued to hone his skills in theatres throughout the region before coming to Atmore and helping to found two community theatre organizations, the most recent of which being the Railway Arts Guild.
From performing to directing, from technical expertise to his phenomenal organizational skills, Phil provides the backbone for everything we plan on doing with the Guild, and we are fortunate to have him.
Artistic Director
Ellen is a native of Atmore, AL, and she graduated from the University of South Alabama with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance. From there, she went on to perform with Tecumseh Outdoor Drama in Ohio and the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Upon her return to the Atmore area, she resumed her performances in the area and started Magical Meetings, a children's entertainment company.
Ellen will be lending her expertise through performance and directing, with a focus on musicals and children's theatre.
Assistant Artistic Director/Enforcer
Andrew has spent his life participating in the various fields of the performing arts, from theater to choral and instrumental performance. He is a Southern native born in Mississippi, raised in Florida, and attended college in Alabama at Troy University where he studied Music Education. He has over a dozen years of experience in musical performance both instrumental and choral, and has been an active presence in local theater in the past 2 years, both performing in over half a dozen shows and as well as making his directorial debut last spring.
He hopes to be able to put his variety of performing experience and educational training to good use for the organization, helping to bring both an appreciation and understanding of performing art to the local communities.
Treasurer/Stage Manager
A long time Alabama resident, Isabel started her training in dance from a young age and spent her last six years of training at one of the top dance schools in Alabama under the direction of Shannon Denny. Upon relocating back to the Gulf Coast, Isabel began her participation in theater and has been involved in many successful productions since 2016 as both an onstage performer and a stage manager.
Isabel hopes to continue to bring her exceptional choreographic talents and exceptional stage management to the Railway Arts Guild.
Director of Media Relations
A native Alabamian, Joseph took to entertainment at an early age; spending his days absorbing TV shows like Benson and Night Court with his family. As he got older and moved on to college, he found himself being asked to participate in a gospel version of Jesus Christ Superstar. The theater bug bit him, but he put it on hold to join the Navy. 21 years later, he found himself asked to perform again, this time as Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. He's performed onstage ever since, as well as working in front of the house and in the booth doing tech work for various shows.
Joseph hopes to bring his technical expertise as well as performance acumen to the Railway Arts Guild.
Secretary
Andrew performed in community theaters in Charlottesville VA, before getting a BFA in theater from the University of South Alabama. He then worked professionally as an actor and technician, with a focus on stage combat and stunt performance.
At the Railway Arts Guild Andrew is excited to help build an organization dedicated to quality entertainment, created in an environment where the demands of the production never eclipse the needs of the human beings giving their time, talent, and selves.
