FEATURE STORY MEET AUSTIN GARDNER

By Lauren Speirs

A tale of acceptance - the perfect way to describe The Naples Players’ (TNP) production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Austin Gardner’s experience thus far.

Gardner, cast as Claude Frollo, works as a contractor and moved to Naples from Florida’s east coast after Hurricane Ian. “I’ve loved doing theater ever since I was very young, so I looked up local theaters and The Naples Players came up. I feel welcome here and everyone’s been so friendly and professional - they’re such a wonderful group of artists working here. I’m one of the newest in the cast, and our cast and creative team already feel like a happy family. It really is a home away from home here.”

While new to The Naples Players, Austin is no stranger to the stage. “I’ve always loved bringing stories to life. Theatre is an outlet where I can be myself and use my talents, while also stepping into the shoes of different characters, traveling through time, and capturing a lot of amazing ideologies and the encapsulation of the human experience that is found in theater and these amazing stories. When I was eight years old, my mom entered me into the humorous monologue category of a speech competition. I ended up winning first place in regionals and state. I never stopped doing it, and I won every single year - I even went to Nationals. ”

Eventually, Gardner tried his hand at live theatre at the age of 18 and has been in love with performing ever since. “Performing gives me a feeling of fulfillment I don’t find anywhere else. I think it’s that ‘chasing the dragon’ feeling that keeps me coming back. I’ve never been able to stray too far from it because I’ve fallen in love with the process of being a part of something bigger than myself and creating art that makes people feel. The wonderful, positive experience of creating something with others as a team and creating new life experiences is something that I want to relive over and over.”

TNP has offered Austin a collaborative environment that he has been unable to find at other professional and community theaters. “TNP does a great job of reminding us why we’re all here volunteering. We’re contributing our time for nothing more than the love of theatre. And that’s really the best thing that you can put your time and energy into. It feels like a unit here. You can feel the love from everyone - the cast, the crew, Dawn, Charlie - as soon as you walk through the door. They are all here with one purpose in mind and that is to help you grow as a performer and person. When you grow, everyone grows because we’re a team. It’s important to support one another and look at each other as one cohesive unit exalting the story. ”

While our community and “high-caliber” productions are some of the reasons Austin decid- ed to audition for TNP, his main reason was the show itself. “I’ve always wanted to do The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The story is so important to tell.”

Gardner says that the audience will be drawn in from the very beginning. “In the first song, Quasimodo comes out and sings the line, ‘what makes a monster and what makes a man?’