By Julie Young

Civic theaters are companies of performing and non-performing players dedicated to providing accessible live theatrical events to the local community. Their productions take place in a variety of venues, and their seasonal offerings may include plays, musicals, youth productions, classic works, and emerging voices. Whether in a big city or a small town, civic theaters are a vibrant cultural resource that brings together people of all ages and backgrounds.  

Luckily, Indiana is home to hundreds of civic theaters and other arts organizations that operate under the civic model. While some offer year-round professional performances, others might be seasonal labors of love for an all-volunteer cast and crew or geared for a niche audience.  

“If you are looking for theater in Indiana, you are going to find it,” said Miah Michaelsen, executive director of the Indiana Arts Commission. “They are much more than the buildings where performances are held…they are the connective tissue that keeps communities knitted together.”  

‘Little Theatres’ everywhere 

Civic theaters grew out of the Little Theatre movement that operated throughout the United States in the early 20th century. These companies were organized by committed volunteers who staged experimental and royalty-free performances wherever they could find an available space. Through a combination of community support, local pride, and a desire to develop American playwrights, Little Theatres evolved into the civic theater model that exists today.  

As the longest continually operating community theater in the United States, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre in Carmel has been part of the central Indiana landscape for over a century. Founded as the Little Theatre Society of Indiana in 1914, the company installed itself in the sculpture court of the John Herron Art Institute. It opened a year later with a presentation of four plays, including “The Killing Triangle: A Domestic Melodrama”. 

“The goal of the Little Theatre movement was to put new works on stage — a lot of which were melodramas,” said Michael Lasley, executive artistic director of the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. “In fact, if you look at a list of productions from the first 30 years, there is virtually nothing that is recognizable.”  

Vaudeville experience 

When New Harmony native Frances Golden retired from the Vaudeville circuit and returned to southern Indiana in 1920, she brought along her considerable experience. Having performed alongside her family members since she was a toddler and touring as a young adult throughout the U.S. and Europe, she was the perfect person to partner with the Evansville Recreation Commission to create the city’s first community theater company in 1925.  

Originally known as the People’s Players and The Community Players, the Evansville Community Theatre opened in 1927 with a production of “Fashion, or Life in New York” by Anna Cora Mowatt. Golden served as the volunteer director of the theater from 1928 to 1941 while also training young singers at the local college (today, the University of Evansville) and operating her own conservatory, The Golden Studio of Voice. A true go-getter, Golden gave the Evansville theater community a sense of stability and purpose that has shaped the company’s character for over 90 years. 

Creating connections 

Founded in 1947, Elkhart Civic Theatre traces its roots to the Elkhart Little Theaters, which provided high-quality productions of classic Shakespearean plays from a residential carriage house. The group performed throughout the late 1920s and into the 1930s, until World War II forced the company into an extended hiatus. Although its name changed after the relaunch, its objective remained the same.  

“Elkhart Civic Theatre gives community members an artistic outlet and a way to make connections with others,” said Executive Director Dave DuFour. “For many, the social aspect is very important with lifelong friendships resulting from working with others in the creative process.”  

No place like home 

Cultivating an inclusive community through live theater is one thing, but finding a place to perform is another. After a decade of showcasing their talents in several all-purpose rooms and rented auditoriums, the Little Theatre Society of Indiana constructed a 240-seat playhouse in 1924. The facility was championed by noted author and playwright Booth Tarkington, whose works were often performed by Little Theatres, and he felt that they had an important role to play in the community.  

The new playhouse opened in 1926 with a production of “Treasure Island,” and three years later, the company adopted a new name: Civic Theatre of Indianapolis. (Tarkington’s name would be added around 1949-1950 to honor the company’s early patron.) 

Since its inception, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre has occupied five unique homes, including the Showalter Pavilion on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and Marian University, before settling into The Tarkington, a 513-seat auditorium at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts just north of Indianapolis in Carmel. In this state-of-the-art space, they continue to foster a love of theater through imagination, educational programming, and offering Broadway-caliber performances at community theater prices.  

Lasley said that the last part isn’t easy. “Almost everything you see on the mainstage is the work of volunteer performers and crew members, but we are a professionally managed company, which means we have a full-time staff. We also hire choreographers and musicians to help frame the performance you see on stage. It makes what we do expensive, comparatively speaking, but the end product you see is more polished.”  

Funding challenges 

Although Frances Golden was alive to see the Evansville Community Theatre rebrand itself as the Evansville Civic Theatre in 1956, she did not live to see the organization secure the old Columbia Theater as its permanent home after years of performing in various indoor and outdoor locations.   

“Our building, which we acquired in 1974, holds a rich history, having previously served as a beer garden, burlesque club, and movie theater before coming under our ownership,” said Theatre Administrator Danielle Scott.  

Built in 1910, the 222-seat space provided the organization with the perfect home for nearly 50 years. However, keeping up with a 115-year-old building does not come cheap. When a 2020 fundraising effort fell short of its $150,000 goal, the Evansville Civic Theatre opted to say goodbye to the Fulton Street space and temporarily take up residence in Benjamin Bosse High School.  

Scott said securing adequate funding is a challenge facing many theater communities today. “As an organization, we do all we can, and we are deeply grateful to those who contribute both their time and financial support…While many theater companies face the same challenges, each person associated with our theater strongly believes that through volunteering, whether behind-the-scenes or performing, we are helping to provide an artistic outlet and appreciation for the arts in our community.”  

A building filled with stories 

Like its counterparts, Elkhart Civic Theatre made its home in a variety of locations, including the auditorium of the old downtown high school before moving into the former YWCA building (now known as the Lexington House). Although the YWCA had a stage, it proved to be inadequate for the company’s needs, and in 1961, Elkhart Civic Theatre was able to lease, and ultimately purchase, the Bristol Theatre from the Moiser family, renaming it the Bristol Opera House.  

Built in two phases at the end of the 19th century by a local businessman, the original building housed the town’s post office, a basement barber shop, and a lodge meeting room on the second floor. The auditorium was added a few years later in hopes that the interurban railway system would grow and create a need for entertainment opportunities. Unfortunately, the railway failed, and aside from a few local events, the theater was rarely used.  

After purchasing the building, Elkhart Civic Theatre opened up the archways to connect the two spaces into one and made several other improvements so that it could serve their needs. Although the stage is quite small, it offers a larger backstage, wing, and downstage areas, allowing them to do more than they could at the YWCA. In 2018, the lobby was given a $110,000 renovation made possible by the generosity of theater patrons and a matching grant from the Elkhart Community Foundation. However, DuFour said there are always more needs than money, and fundraising is an ongoing process. 

“Community theaters are affected by rising costs just as much as any other business,” he said. “At Elkhart Civic Theatre, utilities, insurance, lumber, fabric, and many other components have risen in price over the last couple of years, and theaters must cover those costs.”  

Show your support 

Civic theaters are also challenged by the fact that audiences have so many more sources of entertainment than they did during the Little Theatre days or even a few decades ago. Streaming services provide almost unlimited, cheap entertainment, so the challenge for any civic theater is to sell people on the value of seeing a live performance.  

Michaelsen explains that, like other arts organizations, civic theaters are constantly competing for audience dollars and between materials, venue rentals, administrative costs, and more, it’s not getting any cheaper to put on a show.  

“You are never going to be able to produce plays for less money than you would have five years ago, but that is the nature of live performance,” Michaelsen said. “Generally, ticket revenue only covers 40 to 50 percent of production costs, no matter if it is an amateur or professional organization, so the rest of those dollars must be made up elsewhere.”  

That usually means grants, donations, and sponsorships, but finding someone to write those grants, solicit those donations, and seek out those sponsorships is another challenge. It’s also harder to get the word out about the local theater company when so many communities no longer have local television or radio stations to help promote the mission.  

“Trying to get the word out in a fragmented media environment is something we hear consistently,” she said. “You are pretty much at the whim of social media and the algorithm.” 

So, how can audiences support their local civic theater organization? First, attend a performance. The people on that stage and behind the scenes are your friends and neighbors, and every dollar you invest in a civic theater stays in the local market. In most cases, they volunteer their time and talent, so why not donate some of your time and money to support their hard work? Second, support those who support the arts. Typically, local businesses sponsor these productions, so consider being a customer of these businesses in your community. Third, participate! Whether you sing, act, dance, or have another skillset that can benefit your local theater organization, there is no time like the present to volunteer.  

“Our doors are always open,” said Scott, “Whether you are interested in auditioning, volunteering, attending a performance, or participating in one of our community events. You are always welcome. No prior experience is required.”