The recently formed Chameleon Village Theatre Company won’t be presenting plays on traditional stages in Macon, Ga. The company borrows its name from the color-changing lizard family because it has a stated mission to “adapt to [different] performance spaces and new artistic challenges” through site-specific theater.

The site of its first artistic challenge will be The 567 Center for Renewal. Chameleon Village and the Knight Arts grantee have partnered on the company’s premiere performance.

“This event is the official launch of Chameleon Village,” Melissa Macker, executive director of The 567, said. “The mission of the fledging theater company is to use site-specific theater to bring new appreciation to underused areas, create a venue for collaboration between local artists and businesses, and provide an outlet for local talent. By teaming up, The Chameleon Village and The 567 hope to spark new interests in the arts community.”

Chameleon Village’s debut work is a play entitled “Cope,” which will be presented in the gallery of The 567 on Aug. 7. It’s about a couple of sisters, Haley and Shannon, and the emotions and experiences that the two go through following the death of their mother. In keeping with the site-specific genre, the setting at The 567 is relevant to the story line–Haley, the younger of the two sisters, is a visual artist who is opening her own art gallery.

Josy Jones is the founder of The Chameleon Village Theatre Company, as well as the director of “Cope.” A native of Cleveland, Jones hopes to put her acting and directing skills to work in unexpected streets and venues throughout Macon, and for the theater’s productions to serve as community-building efforts. Jones previously wrote two other works: “Irrelevant Notions: A Play about FGC” and “The Black Commandments,” which focuses on the African-American community.

When “Cope” debuts at The 567 next week (the performance is scheduled for 7 p.m.), the center will also be hosting its regularly scheduled First Friday exhibit opening for “Art of the Academics” from 6-9 p.m. The show features the works of art educators from Middle Georgia’s higher learning institutions, and opening night offers the opportunity to not just take in the art, but also discuss it with the artists themselves. Both events are free to the public.