Phoenix Theatre (Phoenix)
Encyclopedia
The Phoenix Theatre is a professional theatre company located in Phoenix, Arizona
. Started in 1920, by a theatre troupe known as the Phoenix Players, the theatre is the oldest amateur playhouse in the United States
, west of the Mississippi River
. The theatre is run by a non-profit corporation and encompasses both the Main Stage productions, the family-oriented Cookie Company, as well as Greasepaint Youtheatre, youth performing on stage for youth.
and Male Bartlett Heard in 1922. In 1924, the theatre was located in the Heard Stable at Central and McDowell Roads in downtown Phoenix. In 1928, the theatre applied for its articles of incorporation
and by its 8th season boasted 424 members. By 1940, the theatre had close to 1,000 members and remained operational throughout the Second World War
. The theatre moved into its current home, within the same complex as the Phoenix Art Museum
. In 1954, the theatre began its Children's Theatre. In 1985, the 'Little' was dropped from the name, leaving it simply the Phoenix Theatre.
Phoenix Theatre is home to two youth-geared companies as well as an education and outreach program that includes summer camps, the Young Theatregoers program, workshops, seminars, and collaborations with other well-known theater companies. It also provides professional theatre artists as instructors for Arizona School for the Arts, a non-profit college prep school focused on the arts for students 5th-12th grades. Phoenix Theatre hosts a 2nd Draft Series each season to allow for playwrights to host a reading of their new work to be discussed by audiences, a New Works Festival each summer, as well as renting its spaces to various resident dance and performance troupes and out of town companies.
In its 89-year history, Phoenix Theatre has launched stars in the industry, developed young audiences, introduced emerging playwrights and composers, created a space for alternative and experimental theatre, hosted world premieres, sustained a ballet company, produced a collaborative repertory Shakespeare festival, expanded education and outreach, and offered local Equity
Actors an opportunity to work in their hometown.
For the past ten years, PT has sponsored a luncheon at which selected Valley women and corporations who have made a special contribution to children's charities or in the arts are singled out. This luncheon honors four outstanding women in community leadership, business leadership, lifetime achievement, and outstanding achievement. Proceeds from the event go keep the Cookie Company producing its award-winning performances.
In PT's current 09/10 season, these two events will be combined into one event, Phoenix Live which will occur in February and raise funds for the maintenance and upkeep of Phoenix Theatre.
Claire Booth Luce, writer of such hits as The Women spent time at PLT. And Andy Devine
, Rosemary DeCamp
, and Susan Flannery
all went on to have successful television careers after spending some time on the PT stage. Nick Nolte
called PLT home on several occasions. He appeared in 1963 in Squirks and then played Prince Charming in Cinderella. He also starred in The Golden Fleecing in 1964 and worked as Starbuck for Actors Inner Circle in The Rainmaker. L. Ron Hubbard
, began his teaching of Scientology on PLT's Mainstage in the 1950s. Steven Spielberg
screened his first film, Firelight
, at the theatre in 1964.
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. Started in 1920, by a theatre troupe known as the Phoenix Players, the theatre is the oldest amateur playhouse in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The theatre is run by a non-profit corporation and encompasses both the Main Stage productions, the family-oriented Cookie Company, as well as Greasepaint Youtheatre, youth performing on stage for youth.
History
The Phoenix Little Theatre was founded by Harry BehnHarry Behn
Harry Behn, also known as Giles Behn, was an American screenwriter and children's author.-Early life:Harry Behn was born in 1898 in McCabe, Arizona, which is now a ghost town, in Yavapai County in what was then the Arizona Territory. He was the son of Henry K...
and Male Bartlett Heard in 1922. In 1924, the theatre was located in the Heard Stable at Central and McDowell Roads in downtown Phoenix. In 1928, the theatre applied for its articles of incorporation
Articles of Incorporation
The Articles of Incorporation are the primary rules governing the management of a corporation in the United States and Canada, and are filed with a state or other regulatory agency.An equivalent term for LLCs in the United States is the Articles of Organization...
and by its 8th season boasted 424 members. By 1940, the theatre had close to 1,000 members and remained operational throughout the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The theatre moved into its current home, within the same complex as the Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix art museum
The Phoenix Art Museum is the Southwest United States' largest art museum for visual art. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western...
. In 1954, the theatre began its Children's Theatre. In 1985, the 'Little' was dropped from the name, leaving it simply the Phoenix Theatre.
Phoenix Theatre is home to two youth-geared companies as well as an education and outreach program that includes summer camps, the Young Theatregoers program, workshops, seminars, and collaborations with other well-known theater companies. It also provides professional theatre artists as instructors for Arizona School for the Arts, a non-profit college prep school focused on the arts for students 5th-12th grades. Phoenix Theatre hosts a 2nd Draft Series each season to allow for playwrights to host a reading of their new work to be discussed by audiences, a New Works Festival each summer, as well as renting its spaces to various resident dance and performance troupes and out of town companies.
In its 89-year history, Phoenix Theatre has launched stars in the industry, developed young audiences, introduced emerging playwrights and composers, created a space for alternative and experimental theatre, hosted world premieres, sustained a ballet company, produced a collaborative repertory Shakespeare festival, expanded education and outreach, and offered local Equity
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
Actors an opportunity to work in their hometown.
Cookie Company
Alan Prewitt began the Cookie Company in 1980 to bring professional-level theatre to children and their families. CC is the first theatre in the Valley to consistently perform original works, some of them performed in Spanish. It was the first children's theatre to provide shadow-signed and audio reverse interrupted performances for deaf children. The Quiltmaker's Gift by Alan Prewitt is CC's yearly holiday performance. CC serves more than 35,000 cookies a year and more than 500 gallons of milk. That is approximately 980,000 cookies and 14,000 gallons of milk in Cookie Company's 28 years of performances. The Youth Theatregoers is CC's field-trip-to-the-theatre program which has continued for almost 25 years.Greasepaint Youtheatre
Greasepaint is Phoenix Theatre's youth company that targets young audiences. Beginning with the 07/08 season, Phoenix Theatre signed an agreement to provide Greasepaint, a Scottsdale-based company, with fiscal and artistic support. And with the beginning of the 09/10 season, it is now fully incorporated into the PT family. Located in the historic Stagebrush Theater in downtown Scottsdale, Greasepaint's productions contain strictly youth actors which perform for an audience of children, young adults, and their families.Development and Fundraising
Each year, Phoenix Theatre hosts events that raise funds to benefit the operation of the mainstage. For the past 8 years, one major fundraiser has been Phoenix Theatre Follies, a gala event of performance and fun, with community leaders, donors, sponsors, and professional actors joining together on the stage to create a memorable production of an original script.For the past ten years, PT has sponsored a luncheon at which selected Valley women and corporations who have made a special contribution to children's charities or in the arts are singled out. This luncheon honors four outstanding women in community leadership, business leadership, lifetime achievement, and outstanding achievement. Proceeds from the event go keep the Cookie Company producing its award-winning performances.
In PT's current 09/10 season, these two events will be combined into one event, Phoenix Live which will occur in February and raise funds for the maintenance and upkeep of Phoenix Theatre.
Famous Faces
Phoenix Theatre has had more than a few stars share its stage over the years. From playwrights and authors, to television and film actors, PT has been home to those who went on to make a name for themselves as well as those who stopped by with their reputations preceding them.Claire Booth Luce, writer of such hits as The Women spent time at PLT. And Andy Devine
Andy Devine
Andrew Vabre "Andy" Devine was an American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice.-Early life:...
, Rosemary DeCamp
Rosemary DeCamp
Rosemary DeCamp was an American radio, film and television actress.DeCamp first came to fame in November 1937, when she took the role of Judy Price, the secretary of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name. She made her film debut in Cheers for Miss Bishop and appeared in...
, and Susan Flannery
Susan Flannery
Susan Flannery is an American soap opera actress. She is known for her role Stephanie Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful and for her role as Dr. Laura Spencer Horton on Days of our Lives ....
all went on to have successful television careers after spending some time on the PT stage. Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
called PLT home on several occasions. He appeared in 1963 in Squirks and then played Prince Charming in Cinderella. He also starred in The Golden Fleecing in 1964 and worked as Starbuck for Actors Inner Circle in The Rainmaker. L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, began his teaching of Scientology on PLT's Mainstage in the 1950s. Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
screened his first film, Firelight
Firelight (1964 film)
Firelight is a 1964 science fiction adventure film written and directed by Steven Spielberg at the age of 16. Made on a budget of $500, the film was, in a manner of speaking, Spielberg's first commercial success, as it was shown at a local cinema and generated a profit of $1. "I counted the...
, at the theatre in 1964.