Show Goes on for ZCT’s Angel Palmer

ZANESVILLE – The Corona Virus has been difficult for many places, one being the Zanesville Community Theater. The theater is enduring hard times financially but perhaps the biggest difficulty is for thespians of all ages who are regulars on stage. Angel Palmer has been involved with ZCT since 2001 and holds many titles including board member, prop master, director, and producer among others. She moved around a lot as a kid but when she was a teenager in Ohio, she had a dream just as ordinary as the rest.

“I originally wanted to be a princess, ballerina, astronaut teacher,” Palmer said.

A historical disaster forced Palmer to condense just one part of that mission.

“I was in Ms. Alexander’s class at West Muskingum Middle School. We were doing an art project because that’s when Christa McAuliffe was going up in the Challenger and we watched it explode and I was like ‘oh, there went part of my dream. Well, I can’t be an astronaut now but I can still be a princess, ballerina, teacher. So, there have been multiple times even on this stage I’ve been a princess, and a ballerina, and a teacher,” Palmer said.

For someone like Palmer, the Corona Virus has robbed the theater of much more than ticket sales. She feels the biggest tragedy is everyone who loves the performing arts having to put their passion on hold.

“This is a place for young people who are curious and who are just seeking a group of people to accept them and to love them; this is a safe place for that and to know that we have not been able to offer that… it’s heartbreaking. To know that we have started on shows that were amazing and earth-shattering and to have that ripped out from under our feet, it has been so hard for something that many of us hold so dear to just be shut down,” Palmer said.

After living all over the country in her youth, she now knows she’ll never leave the Community Theater or the Zanesville area.

“This is my home. This is my home. I am here more than I am at my job, I am here more than I am at my house. I am here more than I’m at church. This is my home. These people are my family. The friends that I’ve made here besides my own sibling and my mom are the most important people in my life. To move away from them, I can’t even imagine. I can’t even imagine moving away from the people in this theater (and) the family that I have in this theater,” Palmer said.

ZCT is not open to the public now; the Scottish Play is currently in the production phase. The staff does not know if an in-person audience show will happen at this time. For anyone who knows a thing about Shakespeare, the Scottish play is a euphemism for a play that cannot be said in the theater. Thanks to Angel Palmer for sharing her story.