COLUMBUS — According to some members of the Center Stage Players Theatre Troupe, when they tell their friends they’re working actors in Columbus, the reaction is often “really?”

Though the initial reaction might be curiosity, the reality is clear — there is work, and entertainment, to be found in Ohio’s capital just as there are local options for performing, such as Meigs County’s River City Players and Riverbend Arts Council. Though there are differences between zip codes and theatre troupes, the similarity is that love of performing and taking a risk.

Take CSP performer Barbara Blankenship of Westerville, who recently debuted as Mama Rose in the troupe’s performance of “Gypsy.” Blankenship came to CSP after she found herself unemployed after years in the construction business.

“My friends were shocked,” Blankenship said about her decision to following acting and take on what many actresses consider the creme de la creme of musical roles — Mama Rose.

Blankenship said she’d seen the film “Gypsy” as a child and thought “I can do Rose.” She then started taking voice lessons and pretty soon she got to take “performing as Mama Rose” off her bucket list, though she jokingly said being in a pie fight remains to be checked off.

Jordan Shear of Mansfield is a chef by day but last weekend he also performed in “Gypsy.”

“There is more opportunity here than one thinks,” Shear said about working as an actor in Columbus, a sentiment shared by his younger co-star, Emma Best who played young Dainty June.

Best said auditioning in “Columbus” is above all else “fun” and she tries to work in fun in-between a hectic schedule of dance and acting lessons, and of course, school. Best’s dedication impressed co-star Blankenship who asked “when do you sleep?”

Joining a former employee in the construction business, a chef and an elementary school student is mortgage processor Jim Bouyack of Columbus who was also in “Gypsy.” Bouyack said the element that sets CSP apart is the “intimate venue” which allows the audience to feel more connected to the show.

“Gypsy” Director Mike Manter agreed, saying their venue, the theatre at Axis nightclub in the Short North, provides a “different atmosphere” that provides a “one on one experience” where you “get to know your neighbors sitting with you.”

Sharing a theatrical performance with neighbors doesn’t make a theatre troupe in Columbus all that much different than one in Meigs County, both united by the human element collecting around the opportunity to perform - much like gypsies, as the character Gypsy Rose Lee might lament.

Next up for the CSP is a performance of the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” April 30-May 2 and May 7-8 in the theatre at Axis. Other upcoming performances include “Rocky Horror” which begins on Oct. 22 and the Christmas musical “Nuncrackers” which begins on Dec. 10, also at Axis. For more information about CSP, go to centerstageplayers.com.