Author: BereaOnline Staff

BEREA, Ky. — When The Spotlight Playhouse stages Shakespeare this spring and summer, it is not just because his work is a benchmark for actors. It is because inside this particular theater, Shakespeare is quite literally considered family.

In the Spotlight lobby sits a bust of the Bard that staff and regulars affectionately call “Grandpa Bill.” It is part welcome, part running joke, and—according to family research—part biological fact.

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👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Family Link

The connection is more than just a love for the stage. According to recorded ancestor research completed by family historian Brenda Moss (mother of Music Director Letha Hembree) through the Williams side of her family, Executive Director Dr. Chad Hembree (Mr. Chad) and Letha Hembree share a lineage that traces back to William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway.

So when “Grandpa Bill” greets you in the lobby, he isn’t just a mascot for the English playwright; he’s a nod to the family tree.

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📝 The “Modern Bard” Comparison

The family connection also draws a parallel to how the theater is run today. In the Spotlight community, Mr. Chad is sometimes compared to Shakespeare in a functional sense—not just as a writer, but as a working theater maker.

History often forgets that Shakespeare wasn’t just a poet in an ivory tower; he was an actor, a shareholder, and a manager who had to keep a company running. Similarly, Mr. Chad has written more than 50 plays, works full-time in the theater, directs productions, and manages a massive pool of performers. It is a “Shakespearean” workload: building a life around making theater happen, year after year, for a local audience.

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👦 The Next Generation: Keeping the Trade Alive

The “family business” is already extending to the next generation. The Hembrees’ son, Mason Hembree, is currently studying Performing Arts at Bellarmine University in Louisville, ensuring the tradition continues. He isn’t just attending; he is working the craft, recently earning a spot on the Spring 2025 Dean’s List and delivering a phenomenal performance at his Junior Recital on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

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🔄 A Season Where the Story Comes Full Circle

With The Taming of the Shrew (Teen Cast) opening in March and Macbeth (Community Cast) set for June, this is a season where Shakespeare is not just a name on a poster. He is a conversation piece in the lobby, a model for the theater’s work ethic, and a thread in the Hembree family history.

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🎟️ Where to See the “Family Business” in Action

• The Taming of the Shrew (March 6–15)
• Macbeth (June 19–28)
• Macbeth Auditions (March 8)

Originally Published November 1995 | Updated Jan. 27, 2026

BEREA, Ky. — In the spring of 1992, a busload of Madison Southern High School students rolled into Nashville for the Music City Classic, hoping to bring home a trophy. They returned with awards, but one student returned with a life-altering choice.

As Berea’s arts community looks forward to a busy 2026 season, we opened our archives to look back at a pivotal moment for Chad Hembree—known to a generation of young actors today simply as “Mr. Chad.”

The 1992 Music City Classic In April 1992, the “Southern Singers,” directed by Karen Girard, traveled to Nashville to compete against choirs from across the region. The group stayed at the Maxwell House Hotel, toured The Hermitage, and visited Opryland USA.

The trip was a success on paper: the choir earned fourth place overall. But in the solo vocal competition, Hembree’s performance of “I Am a Friar of Orders Grey” earned second place—and caught the ear of the right person in the crowd.

The Offer from a Legend Following his performance, Hembree was approached with an invitation that sounds like a movie script: a chance to meet country music legend Roy Acuff.

The meeting wasn’t just a handshake. Acuff and his team saw potential in the Berea teenager, discussing the possibility of him becoming a regular performer at the Acuff Theatre. The offer included potential daily work at Opryland USA and a pathway to the Grand Ole Opry stage. Hembree was even invited to meet Acuff’s band, The Smoky Mountain Boys, and sang harmony with them in an impromptu session that reportedly went well.

The Decision to Stay In the months that followed, serious discussions took place. A plan was drafted that would have seen Hembree home-schooled during the week to accommodate a performance schedule in Nashville.

Ultimately, Hembree made a choice that surprised some: he turned down the Nashville fast track. He chose to stay in Berea, finish high school with his friends, and pursue a broader education in music and theater rather than locking himself into a country music career at 17.

34 Years Later: A Different Kind of Legacy At the time, the original 1995 article asked: “Was Nashville a once-in-a-lifetime door that should have been walked through?”

In 2026, the answer is clear. Hembree didn’t leave the stage; he just built a new one at home.

Today, Chad Hembree serves as the Executive Director of The Spotlight Playhouse and Spotlight Acting School. Instead of performing for tourists in Nashville, he has spent decades teaching thousands of Berea kids how to find their own voices.

From directing The Wizard of OZ to producing community blockbusters like The Tomb, Hembree’s decision to stay planted in Madison County meant that his experience didn’t just benefit him—it benefited the entire community.

“Berea has always found ways to celebrate its local talent,” the original editor noted. Today, thanks to that decision in 1992, Berea doesn’t just celebrate talent; it cultivates it, one student at a time.