Wine Country Theatre founder, Cynthia Anthony, was inspired to launch a new North County community theater company because of the outstanding talent and appreciative audiences that live and work in Paso Robles. Buoyed by successful REC Foundation productions of Man of La Mancha and South Pacific, that were directed and produced by Cynthia, she began to formulate the genesis of an idea, but was aware of the lack of performing venues available to theatre artists outside of the youth theatre organizations. She was fortunate to meet April and Larry Gomez of Via Vega Winery who just happened to have built a stage in their tasting room and were looking for a small production to mount.
After speaking with the Gomez’s and reviewing the space, Cynthia selected a funny, popular romantic comedy and then set about assembling her team. Auditions were held and the talent proved to be stellar and Cynthia set about transforming her vision into reality. The show and the intimate winery theatre clicked into place right away and promises to be the perfect venues. Ultimately, Cynthia’s vision for Wine Country Theatre is to create an artistic home base for local theatre artists. As the North Country grows, it is anticipated that a performing arts venue will eventually be built. And when that happens, a community of artists and audiences will be ready! Until then, Wine Country Theatre will be searching for possible venues in which to present their shows. Via Vega’s remarkable innovation, in establishing a theatrical space within their winery, is a terrific opportunity and the perfect place to plant the seeds for a future sustainable theatre company.