Pictured, from left, are Joe Yates, artistic director of the newly formed Town Run Theater Company, and Harriet Pearson, co-owner of the Shepherdstown Opera House. Ainsley Hall

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Shepherdstown Opera House recently announced that it has formed a new community theater ensemble called the Town Run Theater Company.

By bringing together local talent throughout the community, the new company will perform shows for people to enjoy.

This partnership started when Harriet Pearson, co-owner of the Shepherdstown Opera House, attended a party and started talking with Homer Speaker, one of the members of the Town Run Theater Company. Speaker mentioned that it would be great to find a way to do something with the opera house, and Pearson thought it was a great idea.

For a long while, Pearson never considered partnering with a theater group, simply because the stage was too small for big shows. However, after hosting a play last year, Pearson realized that it is possible, as long as you have the right group.

“We want the opera house to have a mix of programming and have stuff everyone would like,” Pearson said. “I knew that whatever the theater company would do would be cool.”

Just a few days after the party, Pearson started talking with Joe Yates, artistic director of Town Run Theater Company. Yates has been involved in theater since he was only 10 years old, when he started working at a local theater. He got his first role when he was around 13 and quickly fell in love with being on stage.

Since then, he has worked as an actor, director and producer. Yates has worked with Speaker and other local actors to perform “The Anvil,” a reenactment of John Brown’s trial.

Yates was excited for the opportunity and wanted to make use of the small stage by engaging with the audience and getting them involved in the story. Though this can be intimidating for some actors, a small, intimate space like the Shepherdstown Opera House creates the perfect environment for these kinds of plays.

“In a small theater like this, the audience is more part of the play,” Yates said. “One of the names we considered for the theater group was the Fourth Wall, because we want to eliminate that barrier between the actors and the audience. We don’t see it as a barrier but an invitation. That is really important to me.”

So far, the group includes Yates, Speaker, Emily Wanger, Sarah Ward and Richard Yates. Joe Yates shared that they hope to find more people who are passionate about art and are serious about theater. Their goal is to create art and life and bring that to the stage for the community to enjoy.

The Town Run Theater Company’s first show will be “Bleeding Kansas,” by Kathryn Walat, which takes place in 1855 when Kansas must decide whether it will be slave or free territory. Yates believes that theater is important because of stories like these that make people think and ask important questions as people deal with current issues.

The play will be performed on May 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, with the first performance being free or pay-what-you-will.

For more information about the Shepherdstown Opera House, visit https://operahouselive.com.