Historic Temple

TEMPLE CIVIC
THEATRE, INC.
❖
Above: The Music Man.
Below: On Golden Pond.
Temple Civic Theatre, Inc., a 501(c) (3)
nonprofit corporation, was formed by a group of
interested citizens in 1965. An earlier group,
called Old Central Players, had become inactive,
so a new name was chosen. The first play
produced was You Can’t Take It With You.
Temple Civic Theatre, operating with its own
board of governors and incorporated as a
nonprofit arts organization in November 1968,
worked under the Cultural Activities Center as a
member organization. In 1974, because of its
growth and success, the group had to “leave
home and find a place of its own.” Today, the
theatre and the Cultural Activities Center
operate cooperatively from separate spaces,
both built in 1977.
The building is an 11,000-square-foot plant
containing a 228-seat thrust stage auditorium,
two large dressing rooms, offices, classrooms, a
kitchen, restrooms, a large scene shop, and a
costume shop. It was surrounded in 1989 by
paved, curbed, lighted parking, with landscaping
and improved signage. The facility, valued at over
$400,000, was paid for completely through local
donations in support of the theatre.
In 1992, additional renovation work was
performed to help bring the building into
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA).
The average number of season ticket holders
is 1,300, with over 300 volunteers working
regularly each season. Operations are
coordinated through the managing director with
a twelve-member Board of Governors and
volunteer committee chairmen.
Main-series shows are cast from open
auditions with a loosely-held goal of fifty
percent experienced actors and fifty percent
new participants, in an effort to stabilize quality
while encouraging growth.
Today, six shows are performed on the main
series, which features musicals, classics, and
recently-released titles. Special productions are
designed for smaller interest groups in shorter
run than the more commercial main series. They
include original plays, one-man shows, concerts
by local musicians, and plays of a more serious
or intellectual theme.
Children’s activities have always been of
prime importance, with the theatre’s philosophy
on youth participation being the integration of
children and young people into the overall
program. Formal classes in creative drama, two
youth theatre productions, and a youth
workshop in the summer have been included in
recent years.
118 ✦ HISTORIC TEMPLE