The City of Buford and Buford Community Center are proud to announce the creation of a new partnership with a local theatre company to bring musicals and plays back to the Sylvia Beard Theatre.
The partnership is with a newly developed company called Theatre Buford with co-artistic directors Julie Skrzypek and Justin Walker.
Julie Skrzypek is an Atlanta-based Collaborator, Director, Producer and Stage Manager. She holds a B.A in Performing Arts from Clayton State University. Julie has directed at Synchronicity Theatre, Dallas Theatre, Essential Theatre, Academy Theatre, The Seedling Project, Emory University, and Clayton State University as well as partnered and stage managed with many Atlanta Theatre’s along with Flying Carpet Theatre (New York), MAPP International (LA) and Chez Bushwick (New York). Julie is also a new and proud Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Buford and Producer for the Weird Sisters Theatre Project. Currently, she is embarking on a world tour with Jonah Bokaer, Daniel Arsham, and Pharrell Williams’s Rules Of the Game which is co-commissioned by SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, BAM, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, with major presentation support at La Biennale de la Danse de Lyon and the Brisbane Festival, Australia.
Justin Walker serves as Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Buford. For the past decade, he has worked as an actor in regional theatres throughout the country including TheatreSquared, the Hangar Theatre, Arkansas Rep and the Warehouse Theatre. In the Atlanta area, Justin has worked with the Alliance Theatre Horizon Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Serenbe Playhouse, Georgia Shakespeare, Synchronicity Theatre, and the Shakespeare Tavern. He holds a BA in Theatre Performance from North Greenville University and an MFA in Acting from the University of Arkansas.
“While our touring shows, concerts and comedy shows have been very successful this season, we are excited about our new partnership and the opportunity to bring plays and musical productions back to the Sylvia Beard Theatre.
The experience and expertise of Julie and Justin with Theatre Buford will undoubtedly bring a much higher production quality to the stage than we have had in the past,” stated Todd Cleveland, Director of the Buford Community Center.”We are thrilled to be partnering with The City of Buford and Buford Community Center. Julie and I share Todd’s desire to create high-quality professional productions and could not be more thankful for this opportunity. The Atlanta area is home to a thriving community of talented professional artists, and we look forward to bringing those artists to the Sylvia Beard Theatre.” –Justin Walker, Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Buford.
The first production of this new partnership will be the musical Damn Yankees running April 12th through April 29th. Based on the novel, The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglass Wallop, Damn Yankees, the Broadway mega-hit and winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, hits it out of the park! The winning score by Adler and Ross and a devilish book by George Abbot have made this sporty musical comedy a true American classic!
