Rochester community players
Encyclopedia
The Rochester Community Players (RCP), the oldest community theatre
in New York State, is a local professional
theatre
group in Rochester
, Monroe County, New York
, in the United States
.
Incorporated in 1923, its first production, Wedding Bells, by playwright
Salisbury Fields, opened January 19, 1925 at the German House on Rochester's Gregory Street.
, by Edgar Lee Masters
, which opened May 11, 1984. RCP staged approximately 500 productions at the Playhouse.
theater in Rochester. Early productions were not often dramatically challenging. One reviewer, David L. George, theater critic
for the Democrat and Chronicle
from 1911 to 1956, described the 1931 production of Old Lady 31 by Rachel Crothers as "a type of play which is seldom written now, when novelty and frank treatment of sex themes are demanded by the paying patron
s. It is as wholesome as an old fashion, home made apple dumpling
and as sweet as some of grandmother's best jam." Another reviewer, Amy H. Croughton, described the same play as "an out-moded, lavender and old lace
sort of thing heavily loaded with sentimentality
and deriving its comedy
chiefly from charicture and exaggeration."
Theater quality appears to have risen after World War II
. Perhaps RCP's strongest season was 1958-59, when RCP produced Guys and Dolls; Inherit the Wind
; Visit to a Small Planet
by Gore Vidal
; Blithe Spirit
featuring Foster Brooks
; and As You Like It
by William Shakespeare
. 12 year old Mimi Kennedy
appeared in The Spider Web, by Agatha Christie
, in October 1960.
. A regional equity professional theater, Geva Theatre Center
was founded in 1972, and over a period of years the prominent community members who would have been members of the RCP Board in an earlier era
were drawn to Geva instead. The Playhouse itself deteriorated over time and was abandoned as a performance space from 1976 to 1980. RCP staged its productions at the Holiday Inn
Downtown from 1985 to 1992 (the hotel is known, as of 2006, as the Clarion Hotel, and is located at 120 East Main Street, Rochester.) RCP has operated out of various temporary venues since then. Through the summer of 2006 RCP has produced 617 full theatrical productions and has operated continuously for 82 seasons. RCP claims to be the second oldest continuously operating community theater in the United States, but the organization is unaware of any entity
which has systematic
ally collected such information so the claim cannot be verified.
, Robert Stevens of New York City
. RCP was said to be the first community theater in the United States to hire a full time director. He was "engaged" for three weeks and stayed for twenty eight years, operating RCP until his retirement
in 1953. He was assisted for many years by scenic design
er Milton Robinson, who retired in 1951. Stevens was succeeded by George Warren and Harriet Warren. For nearly twenty years, starting with the 1953-54 season, Mr. Warren acted as RCP's business manager
and Mrs. Warren as the artistic director
. They were assisted by Betsy Hall, who worked as scenic designer from 1953 to 1976. The Warrens came to Rochester in 1953 after 17 years of developing community theater in Jamestown, New York
. Their goal was to transform the socially elite image of RCP and hoped RCP would go professional
, as had Buffalo
's Studio Arena Theater, which had started as a community theater in 1927 and converted into a professional theater in 1965. However, RCP remained a community theater during the Warren years. George Warren died March 11, 1972 and Hattie Warren retired the next year. Various full-time and part-time managers operated the theater over the next twenty five years. RCP has been managed entirely by volunteers since 1998. The current president of RCP is Peter Scribner.
production of one of William Shakespeare
's plays
in early July at the Highland Park Bowl. In 2007 they performed Romeo and Juliet
. The Shakespeare at the Bowl production is co-sponsored by the Monroe County, New York
Parks Department.
. The Irish Players are a member of the "Acting Irish International Theater Festival."
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
in New York State, is a local professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
group in Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, Monroe County, New York
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Incorporated in 1923, its first production, Wedding Bells, by playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Salisbury Fields, opened January 19, 1925 at the German House on Rochester's Gregory Street.
The RCP Playhouse
Most of RCP's earliest productions were staged at the German House on Gregory Street, although one was staged at Rochester's old Lyceum Theater, built in 1903. In 1926, RCP purchased the Playhouse, located at 820 South Clinton Avenue in Rochester. The Playhouse was built as a church, but had been used as a machine shop for the eight years prior to RCP's purchase. The first RCP production at the Playhouse was Captain Applejack by Walter Hackett, opening November 1, 1926. The last RCP production at the Playhouse before it was sold in 1984 was Spoon River AnthologySpoon River Anthology
Spoon River Anthology , by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of short free-form poems that collectively describe the life of the fictional small town of Spoon River, named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters' home town. The collection includes two hundred and twelve separate...
, by Edgar Lee Masters
Edgar Lee Masters
Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist...
, which opened May 11, 1984. RCP staged approximately 500 productions at the Playhouse.
Early years
For its first fifty years, RCP was considered the premierePremiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
theater in Rochester. Early productions were not often dramatically challenging. One reviewer, David L. George, theater critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
for the Democrat and Chronicle
Democrat and Chronicle
The Democrat and Chronicle is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in the greater Rochester, New York area. Located at 55 Exchange Boulevard in downtown Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production facility is located in the town of...
from 1911 to 1956, described the 1931 production of Old Lady 31 by Rachel Crothers as "a type of play which is seldom written now, when novelty and frank treatment of sex themes are demanded by the paying patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
s. It is as wholesome as an old fashion, home made apple dumpling
Apple dumpling
An apple dumpling is a pastry filled with apple, cinnamon and occasionally raisins. Apples are peeled and cored, placed on a portion of dough, then filled with cinnamon and sugar. Then the dough is folded over the apples and the dumplings are baked until tender.Apple dumplings are a native food in...
and as sweet as some of grandmother's best jam." Another reviewer, Amy H. Croughton, described the same play as "an out-moded, lavender and old lace
Lavender and Old Lace
Lavender and Old Lace is a Victorian romance novel written by Myrtle Reed and published Sep., 1902. It tells the story of some remarkable women, each of whom have a unique experience with love. The book follows in Reed’s long history of inciting laughter and tears in her readers through...
sort of thing heavily loaded with sentimentality
Sentimentality
Sentimentality originally indicated the reliance on feelings as a guide to truth, but current usage defines it as an appeal to shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason....
and deriving its comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
chiefly from charicture and exaggeration."
Theater quality appears to have risen after World War II
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...
. Perhaps RCP's strongest season was 1958-59, when RCP produced Guys and Dolls; Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind (play)
Inherit the Wind is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. The play, which debuted in 1955, is a parable that fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means to discuss the then-contemporary McCarthy trials.-Background:...
; Visit to a Small Planet
Visit to a Small Planet
Visit to a Small Planet is a 1960 Paramount Pictures film starring Jerry Lewis, based on a play by Gore Vidal. It was released on February 4, 1960.-Plot:...
by Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
; Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
featuring Foster Brooks
Foster Brooks
Foster Brooks was an American actor and comedian most famous for his portrayal of a lovable drunken man in nightclub performances and television programs.-Biography:...
; and As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. 12 year old Mimi Kennedy
Mimi Kennedy
Mimi Kennedy is an American actress, author and activist.-Early life:Kennedy was born Mary Claire Kennedy in Rochester, New York, the daughter of Nancy Helen and Daniel Gerald Kennedy. She got her start in theater with the Rochester Community Players, appearing in Agatha Christie's "Spider Web"...
appeared in The Spider Web, by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
, in October 1960.
1970s on
By the early 1970s RCP receded as other community theater organizations in Rochester were producing strong works and attracting significant audiencesAudiences
Audiences is an indie rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. They have self-released two live albums. Live at The Otterarium was self recorded and produced in their practice space. Live at Lincoln Hall was recorded live at Lincoln Hall Chicago and engineered by Flashpoint Academy graduate sound...
. A regional equity professional theater, Geva Theatre Center
Geva Theatre Center
Geva Theatre Center is Rochester's leading professional theatre, operating in the Naval Armory-Convention Hall. It is the birthplace of many new and popular works such as Gregg Coffin's Convenience and Five Course Love. Geva is an abbreviation of Genesee Valley Arts Foundation...
was founded in 1972, and over a period of years the prominent community members who would have been members of the RCP Board in an earlier era
Era
An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
were drawn to Geva instead. The Playhouse itself deteriorated over time and was abandoned as a performance space from 1976 to 1980. RCP staged its productions at the Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
Downtown from 1985 to 1992 (the hotel is known, as of 2006, as the Clarion Hotel, and is located at 120 East Main Street, Rochester.) RCP has operated out of various temporary venues since then. Through the summer of 2006 RCP has produced 617 full theatrical productions and has operated continuously for 82 seasons. RCP claims to be the second oldest continuously operating community theater in the United States, but the organization is unaware of any entity
Entity
An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, although it need not be a material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate.An entity could be viewed as a set...
which has systematic
Systematic
Systematic is an American hard rock band from Oakland, California. They were one of the first signings to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's record label, The Music Company, via Elektra Records. The band released two studio albums before disbanding in 2004....
ally collected such information so the claim cannot be verified.
Managing directors
In 1926, RCP hired its own full-time professional director and managerManagement
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, Robert Stevens of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. RCP was said to be the first community theater in the United States to hire a full time director. He was "engaged" for three weeks and stayed for twenty eight years, operating RCP until his retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in 1953. He was assisted for many years by scenic design
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
er Milton Robinson, who retired in 1951. Stevens was succeeded by George Warren and Harriet Warren. For nearly twenty years, starting with the 1953-54 season, Mr. Warren acted as RCP's business manager
Business manager
In a general context, a business manager is a person who manages the work of others in order to run a business efficiently and make a large profit...
and Mrs. Warren as the artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
. They were assisted by Betsy Hall, who worked as scenic designer from 1953 to 1976. The Warrens came to Rochester in 1953 after 17 years of developing community theater in Jamestown, New York
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
. Their goal was to transform the socially elite image of RCP and hoped RCP would go professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
, as had Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
's Studio Arena Theater, which had started as a community theater in 1927 and converted into a professional theater in 1965. However, RCP remained a community theater during the Warren years. George Warren died March 11, 1972 and Hattie Warren retired the next year. Various full-time and part-time managers operated the theater over the next twenty five years. RCP has been managed entirely by volunteers since 1998. The current president of RCP is Peter Scribner.
Shakespeare Players
In 1994, RCP established the Shakespeare Players, a free Shakespeare program. Since 1997, RCP's Shakespeare Players have performed an annual free Shakespeare in the ParkShakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare's works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
production of one of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
in early July at the Highland Park Bowl. In 2007 they performed Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. The Shakespeare at the Bowl production is co-sponsored by the Monroe County, New York
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
Parks Department.
Irish Players
In 1997 RCP established The Irish Players of Rochester, a program that produces Irish theatreIrish theatre
The history of Irish theatre begins with the Gaelic Irish tradition. Much of the literature in that Celtic language was destroyed by conquest, except for a few manuscripts and fragments, such as the Book of Fermoy...
. The Irish Players are a member of the "Acting Irish International Theater Festival."
External links
- Highland Park Bowl (home of RCP's Shakespeare at the Bowl): http://www.monroecounty.gov/parks-highland.php
- Picture of the old Lyceum Theater: http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/Photos/pages/Lyceum_Theatre.html