AT&T engineer took on 5 roles in GLT musical ‘Annie’

Greenwood resident Greg Dees says he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight.

Still, that hasn’t stopped him from shining in that light.

Dees and his daughter, Jana, are both in the Greenwood Little Theatre’s production of “Annie,” which will begin its second week of showings Thursday.

“I don’t like to be in the limelight, but I volunteered for multiple roles,” said Dees,  who learned from David Dallas, the musical’s director, that more male figures were needed for the show. Dees ended up portraying five characters, including a humorous ventriloquist at the beginning of Act Two.

Dees said last week’s opening night went well and was fun,  although it was “nerve-wracking” to change costumes on time for his next character. As far as any nervousness performing in front of a live crowd, Dees said that the stage lights are so bright that he can’t see the audience.

This isn’t Dees’ first time acting.

He was an extra in the 2016 western film “The Duel,” which was filmed in Greenwood. He said he played one of the “townsfolk.”

Dees, 40, a  native of Greenwood, said the only time he has lived away from his hometown was the period in which he lived in Carrollton and attended Carroll Academy. He soon returned home to work at AT&T Inc. as an engineer, a job he’s held for 20 years.

He said he would like to invest in the community by helping bring more entertainment options.

The town is losing population, and businesses have “waned away,” he said.

He said that “downtown is doing great” but that the rest of the city could use something to get its “spirits lifted.”

“To do anything family-oriented, you have to travel long distances,” Dees said.

He said older residents can fondly recall when there where “different happenings.”

“I think Greenwood could become that again one day,” Dees said.

In January, Dr. Jim Phillips, pastor of North Greenwood Baptist Church and a bowling enthusiast, was working with a group of investors to consider revamping an unoccupied building on Park Avenue to add a bowling alley. Dees, a member of North Greenwood Baptist, created a GoFundMe account to raise funds for the potential project.

Though Phillips’ idea didn’t pan out and the GoFundMe did not raise a large sum of money, Dees said he’s still dedicated to bringing institutions that can create memories.

In his view, Greenwood Little Theatre is one of the last institutions “of the classic Greenwood that’s still standing.”  It is a “gem of the community” that could create a boom in tourism if more people knew about it, he said.

Outside of work, Dees attends service at North Greenwood Baptist and likes to fish, play video games and collect arrowheads.  

He’s been married to his wife, Roxanna, for 17 years.