A rare peek behind the curtain honors a century of creative artistry at the Greenville Theatre
Before the first television screen crackled to life in 1927, Greenville audiences were captivated by the stories playing out on a local stage—and that same theatre company is now celebrating its 100th season of making art, magic, and memories.
“We’re creating worlds for people to escape into, for people to believe in, for people to connect with,” says Max Quinlan, the producing artistic director for the historic Greenville Theatre, the Upstate’s oldest and largest locally producing nonprofit theater. In his role, Quinlan oversees the hands-on development of every show, leading a talented team of designers, painters, carpenters, and technicians.
“The stories that we’re presenting—some newer, some classics—are Broadway-caliber shows, but everyone creating them in this space is local,” adds Quinlan. “The actors, costume makers, and volunteers are your neighbors. Everything is done in-house by professional artists, which is part of what makes this place so special.”
A peek behind the curtain reveals a multistory hive of colorful activity that fits, impossibly, inside the stoic stone-faced building. Decades of paint sing from a shop sink, feathers dance across a line of sewing machines, wood chips parade from power tools to pianos, and disco balls glitter above the light and sound stations, ready to show off for the opening night of Sister Act.
A Peek Behind The Greenville Theatre Curtain
Stepping into the prop and costume storage area alone is like entering another dimension: endless twisting aisles of oddities and outfits from centuries of history, fever dreams, and magical fantasies. Spanning the entire breadth of the stage above, the sprawling space offers a glimpse into the countless stories that have been told at the theater, and those yet to be produced by Quinlan’s team in the coming years—such as White Christmas.
A performer himself, Quinlan and his wife met during a national tour of Les Misérables, which brought them to the Peace Center in 2012, where the couple fell in love with Greenville. As his career evolved from acting to directing, Quinlan saw an opportunity to create stories on stage at the iconic Greenville Theatre that reflected the interests of the Upstate community, while continuing the company’s legacy of supporting local artisans.
“Art is something that we can take for granted very easily. It feels like it’ll just always be there,” reflects Quinlan, who reopened the theater in 2021 after COVID to crowds eager for the show to go on. “People [here] recognize the value, significance, and necessity of it. You need a place where you can gather with strangers, friends, and family, and all watch the same story together. We are a place where the community can connect with one another, connect with themselves, and connect with characters on stage that reflect parts of them they might not have even known were there.”
Greenville Theatre, 444 College St., Greenville, greenvilletheatre.org
Sharing the Love
To bring art to all for less, high school drama departments and other theater companies often borrow or rent entire costume packages from the Greenville Theatre’s extensive collection.
The (Next) Show Must Go On
Each show at the Greenville Theatre takes 2 to 3 months to build out (from the set to the costumes and lighting), which means that right after opening night, the creative team starts working on the next show.
Behind the Scenes
You’d never know it, but (literally) just behind the stage you’re watching is an expansive workshop where carpenters and painters are busy creating sets and unique props year-round.
And the Winner Is
When Max Quinlan surveyed the community to see what past show they’d like to see return in honor of the 100th season, the winning pick was Fiddler on the Roof, which will be the first official show of 2026.
