Funding Theatre Education

Thalian Association Community Theatre awards its 2023 Donn Ansell Scholarship to Chandler Wheeler.

Thalian Association Community Theatre (TACT), the Official Community Theatre of North Carolina, is proud to announce that Chandler Wheeler is the recipient of its $1,500 Donn Ansell Scholarship. The scholarship presentation will be at the Thalian Awards on August 20 at Ironclad Brewery.

The scholarship is administered annually by Thalian Association Community Theatre and awarded to a deserving high school senior who has proven to be a serious student of the theatre with plans to further their theatrical education following graduation. Applicants must have been active with the community theatre association as performers, actors or technicians.

Wheeler is the daughter of Chad and Michelle Wheeler of Wilmington. She has been very active in the Wilmington theatre community, participating in 17 shows for Thalian Association, Opera House and Performance Club and a member of the counseling staff for Creative Arts Camp at the Community Arts Center. Chandler has extensive training in dance, voice and acting and plans to pursue a BFA in Theatre Performance at Fordham University in New York City.

Donn Ansell’s family established the Donn Ansell Scholarship in 2013 to honor Ansell’s many achievements in local theater, radio and television, his service to the Wilmington community and his proud history with Thalian Association Community Theatre as its first managing director. The scholarship is partially funded through the generous contributions of the Ansell family and friends, Michael Walton Jones and Troy Rudeseal of Wilmington Transport LLC.

Established in 1788 Thalian Association Community Theatre is a nonprofit, membership organization dedicated to enhancing the Cape Fear region through live community theatre and arts education. Thalian Association Community Theatre produces five major productions annually on the Main Stage at historic Thalian Hall and professionally manages the Hannah Block Historic USO/Community Arts Center for the City of Wilmington. The youth theatre program offers training and performance opportunities for children aged seven through high school seniors. In 2007 Thalian Association Community Theatre was designated North Carolina’s Official Community Theater by the state legislature.

For more information:
thalian.org