At Walton Arts Center, we have a robust community of volunteers who enjoy using their time and talents to support the arts in our community. Some of them are so invested in our mission that they end up becoming employees! William Penny is one of those passionate people.

In high school, William applied for and was accepted to the Youth Volunteer Corps program. This program allows students to work with Walton Arts Center staff and gain experience in different aspects of the performing arts. For William, it was working behind the curtain with the crew.

After his first experience shadowing the crew of a show, William fell in love with working behind the scenes of a theater.

“I first got into theater because I wanted to be an actor, but I quickly realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do,” he said. William became interested in what the crew did and how they made their unseen impression on the audience. “You may see four actors on stage, but there may be 20 people back in the wings making the show happen.”

William saw a future for himself at Walton Arts Center, so he applied for the local crew at 16. But, he found out that he had to be 18 to join the team. However, this did not discourage him. William continued to invest his time and talents at various arts organizations in NWA. And, two years later on his 18th birthday, he applied to the local crew again and became a Walton Arts Center employee.

William’s favorite part of working on the local crew is the dynamic of the team. “We can come in and do a job, but we also have fun while doing it because we all enjoy each other’s company.”

One of William’s favorite memories was working backstage on Blue Man Group’s new North American tour. This was a unique opportunity because the show was built and launched at Walton Arts Center. “It was just amazing seeing a touring show go from loading in set pieces from all over the country to something that was in touring shape that could go anywhere and everywhere.”

Another memorable moment for William was getting to see The Play That Goes Wrong from the other side of the curtain. “It was really cool after working backstage for seven years getting to see the show from a different perspective, especially with the knowledge I have of what goes on backstage.”

This April, William is celebrating his third anniversary at Walton Arts Center.