Shakespeare Team and Renaissance Dinner Theater
Philadelphia Street Playhouse
Indiana Players, Inc.
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Site updated 8/19/08 All Contents
Hosted by
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| Indiana Players,
Inc., is a non-profit
community theater group located in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Since the
first show in 1977 (Harvey), the Indiana Players has continued
to offer Western Pennsylvania audiences the best of dramas, mysteries,
comedies, and musicals. Stressing community involvement, the Indiana
Players strongly encourage anyone with an interest in theater to join
or get involved with a show.
The Philadelphia Street
Playhouse is located at 725 Philadelphia Street in downtown Indiana,
Pa. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 333, Indiana, PA 15701.
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History of the Indiana
Players
In our first thirteen years, the Indiana Players, a 501c3 nonprofit, totally volunteer community theater group, produced three to five family-oriented shows a year. When we moved to the Indiana Theater in 1990, we had $680 in the bank and about one hundred patrons.
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Select for IPI Board of Directors and the Advisory Board. |
| During the following twelve years, we produced eighty-seven shows
involving 520 adults, teens, and children. Within the first five years,
our operating budget rose to $40,000 and the patron list climbed to nearly
2,500. It was obvious that our growth was due to the Players having
continuous and sole access to a performance space affording us a permanent
presence in the Indiana area. When we left the Indiana Theater building in July, 2002, we stored our belongings, without charge, in one of Mr. Joseph Kovalchick’s warehouses and embarked on a search for a suitable building or site for our new home. In 2005, we bought the empty building on Philadelphia Street and began the process of converting it into a useable theater space. With the granting of our occupancy permit in June, 2006, the Philadelphia Street Playhouse was officially open for business! Aside from providing quality theatrical entertainment to our community, the Indiana Players offers adults, teens, and children the opportunity to have their “moment upon the stage.” Taking advantage of acting and technical workshops increases their skills and self-image. Community theater gives people the chance to work as a team toward a single goal, whether on stage or behind the scenes. Our members, especially the teens and children, have enhanced their social skills and learned to work with a diverse group of people while they hone their acting and technical abilities. Most of our young people retain their interest in theater. In the past decade, eleven of our teen thespians were accepted into the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Performing Arts. In addition, our Shakespeare Team consistently comes home from the annual Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest with first or second place awards. What makes the Players unique? Our audiences cover the range from children to senior citizens, and our ticket prices are very reasonable. We offer discounts for students, seniors, and groups of fifteen or more. We also invite several service groups to be our guests at our final dress rehearsals. For many people in these groups, our shows are the only live theater they ever get to see. We encourage families to take part in our shows, both on stage and behind the scenes, affording them quality time while working toward a mutual goal. Through the years, there have been numerous families who have taken advantage of this opportunity. While many university musical and theater productions are open to anyone, the roles usually and naturally go to students who are learning their craft. The Players’ auditions are open to everyone. People have come from Kittanning, Homer City, Shelocta, Punxsutawney, Blairsville, and many other outlying areas. The Players also give high school and college students an opportunity to perform school-required community service. Students have helped in the lobby as ushers and ticket-takers, and worked backstage with sets and lighting. We have also cooperated with IUP, such as when the Robert E. Cook Honors College staged five performances of Clue: The Game Show as their community service. How do the Players benefit our economy? The existence of a successful community theater in Indiana County has boosted the local economy by attracting literally thousands of people to our town. Our casts and crews, numbering from eight to eighty depending on the show, spend four to six weeks coming to rehearsals and parking and eating downtown. When children are rehearsing for a show, many parents drop them off at the theater and spend a few hours shopping while they wait. Many patrons go out for dinner before or after a performance, and the casts and crews frequently gather at local restaurants after the shows. Except for scripts and royalties, the Indiana Players' funds are spent locally on materials for sets, costumes, sound, and lighting. We regularly work with the Tourist Bureau when they arrange bus tours into our area. Performances such as Narnia or On Golden Pond are an important attraction for these visitors. They eat, see a show, and frequently spend the night in local motels. How do the Players contribute to our community? Since 1990, the Indiana Players has participated in the activities of Downtown Indiana, Light-Up Night, Indiana County Chamber of Commerce, the Tourist Bureau, and the Indiana Arts Council. We have built a float for the Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day parades for eight out of ten years, and have provided carolers for many events. At least five or six times each year we are asked to provide entertainment for organizations such as the Indiana Free Library, IUP’s Retired Faculty Association, the faculty union (APSCUF) at IUP, and many of our civic and service clubs. |
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