Tom Vance remembered for being a jack-of-all-trades in Charlotte’s summer theater scene
It was during the late 1970s, in a portion of Pease Auditorium bursting with electric tools, saw horses, building materials, paint, props and costumes when Bill Perkins met the man he calls a dynamo.
Perkins, a writer and producer of instructional materials for Central Piedmont Community College, was probably hunting for a prop when he found Tom Vance.
“He was a jack-of-all-trades,” Perkins said this week, remembering on a memorial page how Vance’s “friendly face and voice were the face and voice of CPCC.”
Vance, once a theater impresario at CPCC, staged decades of sold-out summer theater productions inside Pease Auditorium on campus.
“I was struck by the magnitude and complexity of his professional life: he was a teacher, a scholar, an actor, a producer, a director, a critic, and employer of actors and all kinds of performers,” Perkins said.
“Many stars and would-be stars honed their skills under his direction.”
Vance, of Mint Hill, died March 3 at the age of 84. Although he was vaccinated and boosted, he died from complications of COVID-19 at Atrium Health Carolina Medical Center, his only child, Michael Vance, told the Observer. His father was immunocompromised because of leukemia and chemotherapy treatments, he said.
“My dad had an amazing life,” Vance said. “(He) accomplished so much in life, yet lived his life so simple, yet so bold.”
The Metrolina Theatre Association, a volunteer organization founded in 1984 that advocates for the area’s theater artists, paid tribute to Vance on Facebook, calling him a “gifted spirit.”
“A true pioneer of the Charlotte theatre map, Tom’s vision and work has been a foundation to the present theater family starting with the creation of The Stage Door Set at CPCC in the sixties and building on with the creation of the CPCC Summer Theatre,” the post reads. “His fearlessness and talent was a major force for over five decades, and his influence and magic is still with us.”
From a farm to the stage
Vance, raised on an 80-acre farm that provided milk for the Biltmore Dairy in Asheville, found his calling when he performed in a May Day Festival play in the seventh grade.
He attended Appalachian State Teachers College where he directed and produced several shows and was president of the campus drama club. He graduated from Appalachian State in 1960. He earned a master’s degree while working as a train-robbing Indian at Tweetsie Railroad Theme Park.
After teaching stints at a few high schools and one at Wingate College, he was offered a full-time job at CPCC as an English professor.
In 1966, CPCC had no theater classes, so Vance formed the Stage Door Set drama club. He began producing and directing shows off-campus in makeshift venues until Pease Auditorium was built in 1970 on the main campus. He also wrote original plays. In 1971, he was awarded the Carolina Dramatic Association Playwriting Award for his play, “A Grave is a Fine and Private Place.”
Realizing there was a demand for professional theater, Vance and his wife of 60 years, Jean, started the CPCC Summer Theatre in 1974.
“The first season sold out every performance, and history was made,” Michael Vance said.
In 1976, Vance was asked by the Mecklenburg Historical Association and the city of Charlotte to direct a musical called “First in Freedom.” It was performed on a stage in the center of Trade and Tryon streets for the city’s bicentennial celebration.
Over his lifetime, Tom directed more than 150 shows and produced more than 250 productions.
‘A high energy person’
Vance also was the host of the television show “The Tom Vance Show,” which aired on the CPCC channel and was eventually awarded a CableACE Award. The show was assigned to Perkins.
“He asked good questions because he knew his guests’ interests and accomplishments,” Perkins said. “He got good answers because he listened carefully and conversed well. He was a master of the interview form.”
He also was the local host of an NBC series called “The Baxters,” Michael Vance said. He retired from CPCC in 2001, but continued to run summer theater. His last season as executive producer and artistic director was in 2005.
“(He) hired and nurtured many people, giving them their first job in professional theater,” Michael Vance said. “Hundreds of them moved to New York and worked on Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera ... and regional theaters across the country.
“Tom was also so proud of everyone he worked with, but he held a special place in his heart for those that went into teaching theater as a profession.”
On a memory page for Vance, Maryaliece Hope thanked the man who cast her in roles “I will never forget.”
“Thank you for summer theater where I thought I would be shut down but instead I was elevated because of you,” Hope wrote.
Carol Timblin, the author of “Central Piedmont Community College: The First Thirty Years” wrote: “Tom Vance was a legend who provided top-quality theater in Charlotte for several decades.”
Perkins said Vance’s mind was always preoccupied with something.
“Tom was a high-energy person,” Perkins said. “He talked fast. He moved fast.”
The Metrolina Theatre Association wrote: “He is also survived by a legion of people who continue with his legacy. His spirit and love will continue on with those touched by Tom’s talent and magic.”
