Long before she graduated from Thomasville High School in 2021, Chloe Drinkard had already found the place she belonged. It was not a basketball court or a ball field. It was a stage.
Today, Drinkard remains an actress with the Thomasville Arts Council, and she devotes herself to community theater not simply because she enjoys performing, but because she believes the arts have the power to change lives — as they changed hers.
A Beginning at Age Seven
“From a very young age, I knew I wanted to perform,” Drinkard said. “Looking back, I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love being in front of an audience and telling stories.”
She became involved with the arts council around age seven. Her first production with the organization was the musical Cinderella, in which she played one of the mice — a small role with an outsized effect.
“From the very first rehearsal, I was completely hooked,” she said. “I loved everything about it — the rehearsals, the costumes and, of course, being on stage.”
Her mother remembers it the same way, if more bluntly. “My mom always says, ‘I had to peel you away from there — you would’ve lived there if you could,’” Drinkard said with a laugh. “And, honestly, she’s right.”
More Than a Hobby
Drinkard is candid that theater has served a purpose beyond entertainment in her life.
“Theater has become so much more than a hobby to me,” she said. “It has helped me through some really tough times in my life and has always been a place where I could escape, express myself and just be myself.”
What draws her back, she said, is the particular freedom that performing affords. “I get the opportunity to become so many different characters and figure out how I want to bring each one to life. But more than that, acting makes me feel free and alive.”
She acknowledges the sensation is difficult to convey to anyone who has never stood in front of an audience. “There is something about stepping on stage that fills me with confidence and allows me to leave the stress of everyday life behind,” she said. “It’s one of the few places where my mind can truly relax and just enjoy the moment.”
The mental health benefits of arts participation are well documented. Research from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Psychological Association has shown that creative expression reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, builds resilience, and provides a healthy outlet for processing difficult emotions. For adolescents in particular, having a consistent creative community can be a protective factor against isolation and risky behaviors. Drinkard’s experience mirrors what arts therapists and youth development professionals have observed for decades: the rehearsal room becomes a second home, the cast becomes a chosen family, and the discipline of showing up — lines learned, cues hit, responsibilities met — translates directly into academic and personal success.
Staying Home by Choice
At Thomasville High School, Drinkard was both a cheerleader and a thespian. After graduation, leaving theater behind was never a consideration — and neither, as it turned out, was leaving Thomasville.
“My mom has always encouraged me to dream big and pursue the things I love,” she said. “While I’m definitely a homebody, the Lord blessed me by placing my favorite thing to do right here in my hometown.”
That is not a small point. Rural communities across Clarke County and the wider region routinely lose their most creative young people to larger cities, and the loss compounds over time as the institutions those people would have sustained gradually thin out. When a talented performer chooses to build her adult creative life at home, the town keeps something it might otherwise have exported.
This pattern — often called “brain drain” or “youth outmigration” ” is a documented challenge across the Alabama Black Belt and the Wiregrass region. The University of Alabama’s Center for Economic Development and the Alabama Department of Commerce have both identified retention of creative talent as a key lever for rural economic resilience. When young artists, musicians, writers, and performers stay, they become the cultural infrastructure that makes a town livable for the next generation. They start children’s theater programs, organize downtown art walks, teach private lessons, and volunteer with the local arts council — all of which create the conditions for other young people to stay, too. Drinkard’s decision to remain in Thomasville is, in this sense, an act of community development as much as personal fulfillment.
The Influence of a Mentor
Among those who shaped her path, Drinkard singles out longtime arts council leader Karen Dean, whom she describes as both a gifted performer and a gifted teacher.
“Karen Dean has always been someone I look up to,” Drinkard said. “Put her on a stage and you’ll immediately see why. She’s always been someone I’ve wanted to make proud. She can explain things in a way anyone can understand and make people truly appreciate the arts.”
The role of adult mentors in sustaining rural arts organizations cannot be overstated. In communities without full-time arts administrators, the institutional memory, fundraising relationships, and production expertise live in the volunteers who have spent decades keeping the lights on. The Thomasville Arts Council, like many similar organizations across the state, operates on a model of multigenerational stewardship — board members who joined as teenagers now mentoring the next cohort. This continuity is what allows a community theater to survive the inevitable turnover of any volunteer-driven enterprise.
The Case for Community Theater
Drinkard makes an argument that deserves attention from anyone who thinks of the arts as decorative rather than essential — particularly in rural areas such as Thomasville.
“The arts provide a place for people who may not be involved in sports or other extracurricular activities to belong,” she said.
In many small towns, athletics is the default social organizing structure for young people. It is a good one, but it does not fit everyone. For students who are not athletic, or who simply are not drawn to competition, the absence of an alternative can mean the absence of any community at all during formative years.
Theater, she argues, teaches a set of transferable skills that employers and colleges recognize:
- Communication and public speaking
- Creativity and problem-solving
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Discipline and responsibility
- Self-confidence
“If you take away the arts, something truly important dies within a community,” she said. “The arts bring people together, tell our stories and give people a place where they feel seen and valued.”
This framing aligns with the findings of the Alabama State Council on the Arts’ annual community impact surveys, which consistently show that arts organizations in rural counties serve as de facto community centers — hosting not only rehearsals and performances but also town meetings, literacy programs, senior gatherings, and disaster relief coordination. The Thomasville Arts Council’s facility on East Front Street has functioned in this capacity for decades, and its continued operation depends on the same volunteer base that Drinkard now helps lead.
Passing It Forward
Drinkard’s ambition now extends beyond her own performances. She wants the children currently sitting in Thomasville classrooms to find what she found.
“Theater has given me so much throughout my life — friendships, confidence, memories and opportunities — and I want to help make sure future generations have those same experiences,” she said. “As long as I’m around, I’ll do everything I can to help keep the arts alive in Thomasville. I want young people to know they have a place here, just like I did.”
Community theater in towns like Thomasville survives on precisely that kind of commitment — volunteers who build sets, sew costumes, sell tickets and show up for rehearsal after a full day of work. Residents interested in supporting the Thomasville Arts Council can do so most directly by buying a ticket and filling a seat.
The economic ripple effects of a thriving arts council extend beyond ticket sales. Visitors to performances patronize local restaurants, fill hotel rooms during festival weekends, and support downtown merchants. The Alabama Tourism Department’s cultural heritage tourism initiatives specifically highlight community theaters as anchor attractions for the state’s small-town tourism strategy. For a town like Thomasville — the county seat of Clarke County, with a population of roughly 3,600 — the arts council is both a quality-of-life asset and a modest economic engine, drawing audiences from Grove Hill, Jackson, Coffeeville, and the surrounding unincorporated communities that lack their own dedicated performance venues.