Leaning back in his chair, in an office tucked in the depths of a large studio building, a slight grin rolls across the face of Steven Lloyd. 

“I would never have envisioned this,” Lloyd said in a humble tone. “I would have never thought 30 years ahead and have pictured this. But, everything has evolved.”

Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville is fortunate to be one of few theaters to have a talented scenic artist on staff. Not only does Lyle Baskin produce some of the most stunning backdrops for HART productions, but the backdrops also allow the theater to make money by renting the pieces out to other theaters throughout the country.

• HART’s traveling backdrops wow theaters far and wide
• HART’s scenic artist sets the stage for drama
• Six life lessons from a backdrop artist

Haywood Arts Regional Theatre is known for is top-rate shows and high-caliber acting not typical of community theaters.

But HART has a well-kept secret that pulls its stage action together, a secret that’s hidden in plain sight of audiences, always noticed but rarely noted: its stunning backdrops.

Lyle Baskin is a man of high places. He’s spent most of his life on a ladder.

Sitting on a bench one recent sunny afternoon, Steven Lloyd gazes to his right, a big smile immediately rolling across his face.

“When I look over there, I see potential — a lot of potential,” he said.

Don’t hire C.J. Deering.

“I don’t know why people hire me,” she laughed. “Maybe I’m just lucky, maybe they see something in me that I don’t.”

Sitting in her dressing room, backstage at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in downtown Waynesville last Saturday night, Deering (C.J. = Cameron Jane) just finished the second night of a two-weekend run of her one-woman comedy monologue, “Jobs I Had For One Day.” The hour-long production puts Deering center stage, under the bright lights and in front of dozens of curious faces staring back at her within the cozy black box stage.

Though the process has been long, Steven Lloyd is beginning to see the fruits of his labor.

“I sometimes feel like I’ve pushed a big boulder up a hill and it’ll fall backwards,” he said. “But, the momentum is still going. We’re a proven, successful theatre, and this is going to happen.”

The Haywood Arts Regional Theatre (HART) in Waynesville reached its fund-raising goal of $600,000 sooner than expected, thanks to John and Susie Harmon.

I’ve always believed in the adage that success builds success. It’s one of life’s truisms that anyone with eyes wide open sees very plainly, and it holds true in business, education, politics and the arts. That’s why Haywood Arts Regional Theater’s State II project will succeed, and I can’t wait until it’s up and running.

The plan for HART — which has called its Performing Arts Center on Pigeon Street home since 1997 — is to construct another building that will house a second full theater, a full kitchen, apartments for visiting performers, dressing rooms and storage areas. The theater will be smaller than the 250-seat main stage venue but larger than the intimate Feichter Studio Theater that houses up to 75 spectators. HART supporters have embarked on a $1 million fund-raising campaign.

Bringing a little warmth to the impending fall weather, the Haywood Regional Arts Theatre in Waynesville presents “The Light In The Piazza” this month.

Taking place in Florence, Italy (circa 1953), the story unfolds as a Winston-Salem mother and daughter visit the picturesque country. From the beginning, there seems to be something emotionally off with the daughter (Clara), which is only magnified by the obsessively nurturing and protective mother (Margaret).