Who are Shania and Elizabeth? Home Town Takeover's Wetumpka thespians get their dream house
When it comes to the importance of art in a town, Ben and Erin Napier know just how important it is, seeing that they are both art majors and have a deep love for it. So, when it came to helping more community leaders within Wetumpka itself, the couple knew that they would love to help people who work endlessly to keep creativity alive.
On this week's episode of 'Home Town Takeover', the Napiers head over to the home of local thespians, Shania and Elizabeth, both of whom work tirelessly to keep theater alive and thriving in Wetumpka. While they have done their bit so far, they can definitely use a few more helping hands. Thankfully, that's where Ben and Erin came to their rescue.
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Who are Shania and Elizabeth?
For a city like Wetumpka, the community is truly one that is close-knit, where each person plays an important and unique role in helping the community grow and prosper. Enter Shania and Elizabeth, partners who live in the city and have grown to be synonymous with the city's art and culture scene. Shania is a stage manager at the theatre in Wetumpka, while Elizabeth, who was an attorney, left her job to become a teacher. As the two of them explained, they met while on stage and love blossomed. Together, their main focus is keeping the arts and theater alive in Wetumpka.
As explained by Taylor, a member of the community theatre, "People like Shania and Elizabeth are exactly those type of community members that we (Wetumpka) need, especially nowadays." she explained. "They're more than deserving of this," she added, seeing that Ben and Erin were all set to renovate their home.
How did Ben and Erin renovate their home?
For Shania and Elizabeth, it was important for them to have space where they could host cast parties, have reading and even a workspace where they could build props and other requirements that the theater might need. Ben and Erin were thrilled to be able to create the same for them, seeing that they both believe that the arts are absolutely important to any town. For their home, the couple decided that their hall, kitchen and dining room needed to have a better flow, so that hosting would be easier.
The Napiers also listed the help of Steve Ford of 'Restored by the Fords' and Tamara Day of 'Bargain Mansion's, who helped bring the project to life. The kitchen and the dining space were opened up completely, seeing that they got rid of the wall separating the two. Erin even went one step ahead and took a few pages from Elizabeth's script, one that she wrote and hopes to perform at the Wetumpka theater someday, framed it and turned it into visual art. Day helped restore Elizabeth's 130-year-old curio cabinet as well, along with Robert, a local antique glass restorer, since it meant the world to her.
Since converting the shed into a functional work studio was quintessential to the plans, Ben decided that Elizabeth and Shania needed a working studio that was all about functionality. He went about building them a custom table that opens down the center, revealing a hidden drawer for added storage space. Apart from this, the entire shed was converted into a highly functional and well-equipped building studio. The couple was thrilled, overwhelmed and grateful and they couldn't wait to work on more projects in their new space.
You can watch 'Home Town Takeover' on HGTV on Sundays at 8 pm ET/PT and stream it on Discovery+