The last time Sumter's Next Generation caught up with Carlos Waters in 2023, he was a 19-year-old playwright, fresh off the success of his original play, "Name of Play: A Play with No Limitations," at Sumter Opera House and navigating his desire to push the boundaries of creativity underneath our little theater's house lights.
Since then, the 21-year-old creative has added playwright and director of "Hearts & Minds: A guide to relationships" to his resume, grown bolder, expanded his vision and is now inspiring a new wave of creatives in Sumter - both in the classroom and through his own work.
In mid-2024, Carlos turned his aspirations of taking his work on the road into a reality, embarking on a three-city theater tour across Sumter, Athens, Georgia, and Raleigh, North Carolina, for "Hearts & Minds." He was finally doing what he always dreamed of: meeting new people who share his excitement for creativity and exposing newcomers to the world of theater through a work of art that is not award-winning - yet - but profound and personal to him. But, like any new venture, there will be challenges. Ones that forced Carlos to look at his craft in a new light.
"I feel as if I rushed into it. I didn't think about all these things that I should have like, for example, advertisement. I should have went to the [news]paper, I should have went through these magazines or talked to people. So, my audience wasn't as big as I anticipated it to be," Carlos shared. "That was definitely a learning experience and something that I'm going to fix in the future."
Despite the challenges, the experience opened doors and built confidence in the young director. And now he's back, with another production that he hopes speaks to Sumter - and not only through its words.
His latest project, "A Night of Short Stories and Poems," isn't your typical play. This time, he's blending theatrical performances with classic literature - think Edgar Allan Poe's vivid works, Ernest Hemingway's notable short stories and even Dr. Seuss' whimsical rhymes. Inspired by Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," Carlos realized how incredible it would be to see these established, beloved short stories come to life set under stage lights. So instead of imagining it, he decided to do it himself.
Auditions for this production were different, growing from one person who tried out from his original production to nearly 20 this time around. Through putting himself out there, namely through Sumter's Next Generation, Carlos discovered overwhelming support from complete strangers. Congratulations and excitement for him were plentiful and only fueled his desire to give the people what they were asking for. "A Night of Short Stories" premieres at Sumter Opera House on March 27 and is ticketed. He understands Sumter may not be used to a production of this kind. It's a risk, but he thrives on taking creative chances.
"I think people crave something new all the time; that's just human nature. When you present something, of course, it can be a hit or miss. People can love it, people might not love it. But when they do love it, it's amazing because you introduce something to a community that hasn't seen it before that quite really needed it," Carlos explained. "The poetry in these stories is so important, either through education or just through reading and learning about the world. So, I think Sumter might really need this."
Beyond his own productions, Carlos is also investing in the next generation of young actors as Sumter Little Theatre's youth theater instructor. As a young, wide-eyed, aspiring actor once upon a time, he understands what it takes to grow into one's creativity, and watching his students bloom day by day is as rewarding as it is inspiring.
"These kids, especially in this theater, have such a motivation to act, have such a motivation to learn. That's what I love about teaching, especially since, when I was in that very same classroom in this very same theater, I was the exact same way. I see myself in them, and I know even without my help, even without a little push, these kids are going to motivate themselves and find a way to get things done," Carlos expressed. "But, of course, I always try to tell them the sky's the limit It doesn't matter the age, doesn't matter where you are, who you are. You can always fulfill your dreams. There's no deadline."
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