Perhaps the philosophy of Act 3 Productions, Sandy Springs’ newest theatre company, can be summed up by a long-distance fan.
New York resident Jayne Atkinson, who played Division Director Karen Hayes on the Fox TV show, “24,” said company co-founder Patti Mactas has bloomed where she is planted.
“I’m so admiring of the choices she made,” said the actress, who was Ms. Mactas’ roommate at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where they both studied drama. “What she is bringing to the next generation of actors and actresses is so important.”
It’s a generation well-represented in “Songs for a New World,” the company’s grand-opening performance, in which more than half its performers attend high schools in Atlanta-DeKalb, Marietta, Roswell and Mableton.
Ms. Atkinson said while they may aspire to acting careers, in the current economy the stakes are higher than when she started out.
“It’s a difficult time to enter the arts,” she said. “You have to really want to be an actor.”
Ms. Atkinson will do her best to help them, however, by flying down to attend the show and reception Saturday and give them a pep talk.
“Have as much fun as they can,” she said about her topic. “When they’re having a great time, the audience is having a great time.”
The company’s founders — Ms. Mactas, Susan Anderson, Lyn Taylor, Johnna Mitchell and Theresa Dean — may be having the most fun of all.
“I’m very admiring of how they put their theatre together,” Ms. Atkinson said. “From what I understand, they are very happy.”
Ms. Mactas, the company’s artistic director, said she is happy watching their young protégés bloom.
“The joy is seeing a great performance and knowing what a difference it has made in their lives,” Ms. Mactas said.
Ms. Taylor said she enjoys how the five “drama mamas” bring five separate but essential skills to the table — direction, choreography, set design, finance and her own contribution, conducting a live orchestra.
“We are a team,” Ms. Taylor said. “This is our essence and what sets us apart.”
The musical revue by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown will also be the first time in 10 years that the formerly Cobb County-based company has adults in its cast, many familiar to patrons of the Blackwell Playhouse in Marietta and the Kudzu Playhouse in Roswell.

if you go

n What: “Songs for a New World”
n When: 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. April 29
n Where: 6285-R Roswell Road, Sandy Springs
n Cost: $50 Saturday, $20 Sundays, $20 April 29
n Information: visit www.act3productions.org.