Kelleybrooke Blackwell Brown has tried her hand at lot of different things. She has managed a restaurant, marketed for a hotel and now works for the U. S. Space and Rocket Center.

All these things aside, theater has remained the Troy University graduate’s one true love.

This year, as the Whole Backstage Theater in Guntersville prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary, Brown puts on a new hat as the acting teacher for ages 7-16.

“What we do, first, is for kids,” Brown said. “Children’s Theatre has been a vision of the Whole Backstage Theatre since it was discontinued quite a few years ago.”

The classes are complied into 10-week sessions with a performance at the end of the session which includes every student. This past summer, Brown taught similar classes.

“My students ranged in age from eight to 15 and performed a collection of contrasting monologues we called ‘Wet Paint’ at the Arabian Theatre in August,” Brown said.

Brown attended Northeast Alabama Community College and transferred to Troy University where she earned a bachelor of science in communication arts—dramatic track in 2003.

“All kids deserve a chance to experience theatre arts,” Brown said. “I didn’t have that chance in school and would not have had the chance if it had not been for Northeast and Troy. It’s sort of my chance to give to someone else what a couple of special people, Ann Everett at Northeast and Adena Moree at Troy, gave to me – opportunity.

Moree recruited Brown to Troy after she heard her sing as Patsy Cline in ‘Always…Patsy Cline’ at Northeast Alabama Community College in 1999. “Before then I had never even heard of Troy State University,” Brown said. “I came to school on performing arts-theatre, choral, and leadership scholarships.”

While at Troy University, Brown was active in Theatre, Alpha Psi Omega Fraternity, and Kappa Delta Sorority. She worked at Julia’s Family Restaurant.

She lives in Arab with her husband, Jon Brown, and their daughter, AvaRose. She is the executive assistant to the CEO at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

The Children’s Theatre will open on Jan. 5 and after a long rest and Brown will play an important role in providing theater opportunities to young people.

“My hope for this project is to give kids what someone else gave me–opportunity…opportunity that I didn’t have as a student who attended rural county schools,” Brown said. “ Not every child is into sports. I just hope this gives them another option.”