CPCC drama department leader takes final bow after 37 years and thousands of students
Central Piedmont Community College’s Tom Hollis hasn’t had a summer vacation in 37 years. He’s been directing and producing the college’s Summer Theatre program since he started as a drama department instructor in 1983.
Now CPCC’s Drama Department chair, Hollis is retiring on Aug. 1. He’s a Wilton and Mary Parr Fellow, an award given to faculty to recognize teaching excellence. In 2019 he received the Theatre Person of the Year award from Metrolina Theatre Association.
“For over 30 years, Tom has worked tirelessly producing, directing, teaching and promoting theater here in the Charlotte area,” said MTA president Hank West. “The number of people he has an effect on is astronomical. His graciousness and humility are recognized throughout the Charlotte community, and his love for theater is reflected in all that he has accomplished.”
As artistic director for Central Piedmont Summer Theatre, Hollis oversaw five shows in nine weeks — helped choose the shows, auditioned more than 1,000 actors, supervised guest directors and directed at least two of the performances.
This summer would have marked the program’s 47th year, but the season has been canceled due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
During the academic year, the drama department produces four shows (Hollis directs two). Students also build sets and provide technical support for the CPCC’s opera and dance programs. The college offers an associate in fine arts degree. Hollis is one of three full-time faculty and 12 adjunct faculty.
There are typically 70 students at any given time taking courses such as acting for the camera, costuming, stagecraft, stage makeup, theater history and theater appreciation. CPCC drama graduates work around the world, Hollis said.
Hollis grew up in Stanly County, on the campus of Pfeiffer University where his father was an education professor. Hollis later graduated from Pfeiffer with double majors in English and theater. He attended Southern Illinois University, receiving a Master of Fine Arts in directing.
Hollis and his wife of 47 years, Linda Hollis, have two adult children and two grandchildren. When the time is right, they plan on making up for the summer vacations they’ve missed.
Which performances stand out to you?
In the last few years, we’ve had the opportunity to do some fine shows: “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miz,” “Ragtime.” At the time you’re doing it, it’s an all-consuming process. It takes over your life and you’re madly in love with it while you’re doing it. And then something else comes by and attracts the eye.
Ten years ago, I did a production of “Crazy for You” that had one of the most amazing moments on the stage I’ve ever seen. We got to the end of the first act with this huge tap dance number and the audience came up out of their seats applauding the kids and what they had accomplished in a seven-minute tap number. We finally had to turn the lights off so we could go to intermission.
How have actors surprised you?
Early in my time here, I did a production of Kaufman and Harts’ “You Can’t Take It With You.” Every night the cast took the show and made it better. You just wanted to watch them to see what they were going to do next because each night they found more in the show. It’s one of the challenges of being a stage director.
When the curtain goes up on opening night, your job is technically done and you’re handing it to the actors and the audience. That’s where part of the joy comes in, watching the audience respond to the actors and seeing if what you said is going to happen, actually happens.
What’s been the best audience reaction to a show?
A lot of times we talk about how special it is to hear an audience laugh or to receive a huge round of applause for something. One of the most special moments to me is when the audience is totally silent. And they’re not even moving, barely breathing.
You have 1,000 people who are having the same moment, the same experience with the actors on the stage. They’re so engrossed, they forget to breathe. That to me is one of the most magical moments that I’ve ever experienced.
How have theater students changed over the years?
We’re getting a lot of kids who seem to be more interested in musical theater than they are in theater in general. I blame it on Disney and all the animated movies. The musical has become important in high schools.
The demands on the kids to go to school and work seem to be even greater than it was in ‘83. All community college students seem to be in that situation where they have to support themselves and try to go to school at the same time.
We’ve seen a shift in recent years — we’re getting a lot more traditional college students, the 19, 20 and 21-year old. I think when I started, the average age was in the upper 20s and 30s. They’re still very eager. They are the reason we do what we do — seeing them discover things in themselves that they didn’t realize they could do.
What do you hope your students leave knowing?
Never stop learning has been one of my chief goals. An actor is not necessarily born, although some people come with a lot of raw talent. To learn, to grow, keep learning and developing. I have a big sign on my office door, “Never give up.”
How has COVID-19 affected your last months at Central Piedmont?
It wasn’t how I intended it to end. I’m very much a face to face kind of person, from being a theater person. And now we’re teaching everything online. I’ve been using video conferencing software so I can still see people’s faces when I’m talking to them.
I find that human interaction leads to greater understanding and learning than monkey see, monkey do off a computer. I don’t anticipate a day when somebody stands up at a graduation ceremony and thanks their MacBook Pro for inspiring them for becoming the person they are today. I think it will always have to be that human connection and that’s what’s always drawn me to the theater.
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