Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Coffee And Comfort
New comedy debuts on FSLT stage
Friends are the family you get to choose, and they can get you through your toughest times.” — Audra Sargent “Life is always easier with a great group of friends and a safe place to be yourself.” — Joanne Peterson
“Really this story is more of an idealistic daydream of what a safe place can look like, and it happens to take place in a coffee shop because I used to daydream about owning one someday.” — Jamie Lambdin-Bolin
All volunteers at Fort Smith Little Theatre, Sargent, Peterson and Lambdin-Bolin are talking about “Coffee Shop,” a brand-new script premiering Nov. 10-19. Lambdin-Bolin is the playwright, and it’s her first play, based in part on her experiences working as a barista but also on her love for television sitcoms like “Frasier,” “Blackish,” “Modern Family” and “The Nanny.”
“They all make me feel like I’ve found a family of people who make me feel safe,” she says of those tried-andtrue stories. “I hope audiences leave ‘Coffee Shop’ feeling a bit like that.”
The story revolves around a coffee shop staff that gets along well, explains FSLT publicist Audra Sargent. “They work as a team when it’s busy, and they share a lot with each other when it’s not.” Unfortunately, the business is not doing as well, so the owner Gale (Joanne Peterson) asks her businesssavvy sister Margot (Tina Dale) for help. While this leads to improvements, it also creates friction, especially between Margot and employee Irene, played by Sargent in her FSLT debut.
“Irene is sensitive and has some trauma in her life that she is trying to learn to face,” Sargent says. “She can be oblivious to a guy flirting, but she can notice changes in her friends. She loves deeply and stands up for what she believes in. I can relate to her on many levels — she dresses casually, likes to read and loves coffee. While I am more of a tea drinker, I can also get behind some good coffee, too!”
Joanne Peterson is also on the FSLT stage for the first time as Gale after volunteering backstage since 2019.
“I have always enjoyed going to the theater but had no other theater experience. So when I learned about FSLT shortly after moving to Fort Smith, I started to explore their website … [and] after talking with a colleague who was active at FSLT, he convinced me to start helping out,” she says. “I started with set construction for ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ I learned the theater is all volunteer and decided to start helping out in various other areas, got to know many of the other volunteers, and it is now like my second home.
“Gale is the owner of the coffee shop, and I hate coffee, so in that way we are very different,” Peterson adds. “But her personality is very similar to mine. She is eager to help people and wants everyone to get along. She is supportive of everyone and wants to help them be the best version of themselves.”
“Oh my goodness, how incredibly terrifying it was to have people read these lines out loud at auditions,” says Lambdin-Bolin of her writing debut. “When I first wrote the script in early spring 2020 (before covid really hit our area), some friends and I gathered for a table read. It was just as exhilarating that first day as it is now to hear people read and react to the words. I’m so thankful to this group of friends (old and new) who have so kindly picked up the scripts and are bringing the show to life.”
Lambdin-Bolin says she is also grateful to the FSLT Board for backing a brand-new show.
“So many people are volunteering their time and energy to make ‘Coffee Shop’ succeed. That’s an incredibly rewarding and humbling thing to recognize,” she says. “Let’s just say I certainly hope this is just the start of a long and fulfilling future not just for ‘Coffee Shop,’ but also for myself as a writer.”