The debut performance by Players Workshop in Burlington was a radio play written by one its own.
“A Trick” by Walter Stone aired in 1934.
Mary Krohlow, archives coordinator for Players Workshop, said the group wrote its own productions back then because they didn’t have enough money to pay royalties for plays.
She also said the city didn’t have a radio station in those days, which means the actors had to drive out of town to stage their performances.
“The two that they went to most of the time were Carthage in Illinois and Iowa City. But they also went as far afield as Quincy, St. Louis, and Des Moines,” Krohlow said.
The group is still going strong some 90 years later. It has a 19-member board of directors, all of whom are volunteers. And they no longer travel to put on plays – they stage performances at their home base at 1431 Grove St. in Burlington.
‘Once the bug bites’
Board Vice President Kent Lewis said he’s been involved with theater since he was a child.
“Speaking for myself, once the bug bites, it’s hard to get you to stop being in the theater. Most of the people are there because they love doing theater,” he said.
And Lewis said community theater is not just for people who love being on stage – some people enjoy doing behind-the-scenes work, such as designing costumes or building sets.
Board President Mary Fox said she didn’t get a chance to do plays in high school, even though she was interested, so it was on her bucket list to try to be in a play. After attending Players Workshop performances for a number of years, she decided to give it a try about ten years ago.
“I walked into a group of people and I knew no one, and now one of my fellow actresses in that show is my best friend,” Fox said.
“You asked how do we get our volunteers. They come to us. The bug bites them. That was my case and you can’t get rid of them. They’re there for life.”
Fox said the actors have day jobs, and this is something they’re doing in their free time for the love of it.
Krohlow said community theaters often don’t last this long. Enthusiasm wanes, and there’s the challenge of changing with the times. She said through the years, Players Workshop has – among other things -- done radio plays, shot local movies, and performed dinner mystery theater. They also hosted a national playwriting contest for four years in the 1960s.
Lewis said people should check out their local community theater productions because there is nothing quite like live theater. He said seeing actors perform live is a totally different experience than watching a film or a television show.
This season’s productions
The Players Workshop stages four productions during its season. This season’s leadoff play is Little Shop of Horrors, which opened on Sept. 20. It will be staged again from Sept. 27 to 29 and Oct. 3 to 6.
On the Farce Day of Christmas will be performed Dec. 6 to 8 and Dec. 12 to 15.
Then, in 2025, the theater will raise the curtain on The Hallelujah Girls Feb. 21 to 23, Feb. 27 and 28, and March 1 and 2.
Murder on the Orient Express will be staged May 2 to 4 and May 8 to 11.
Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students. Season tickets are also available for $45 and $30. Tickets can be purchased online. They can also be purchased at the theater’s box office.
Krohlow said the theater’s capacity was once 260, but through the years they’ve reduced the number of seats to 212.
“And the reason is, people’s butts have gotten bigger and we’ve had to get wider seats,” she said.
Spacing out the seats a bit also provides extra leg room.
Krohlow said the building they use is on school property and was donated to the district for the use of the arts.
Players Workshop maintains the building and the grounds.
Getting the kids involved
Players Workshop also does a youth production every year, usually in June. Fox said this is how they get the next generation interested in live theater.
She said they have high expectations for the youth productions – these shows are not just for parents and grandparents. The students rehearse the same amount of time as the adults do for their shows, and the organization has the same expectations for a quality production.
Fox said the children have to audition and no one is guaranteed a part. They had 90 kids show up for the most recent production. Only around a third received calls saying they got cast.
The others received calls saying they did not make the cut.
“And when they got the call, the parents all said they understood because they saw how many had auditioned, but they said just seeing their kids get up on stage and having that opportunity to audition, they thought it was fantastic, so no broken hearts,” Fox said.
Lewis added, “It takes a lot for somebody to get up on stage and audition, especially if they’ve never done it before. And it helps the person grow just by auditioning and getting up in front of people.”
They have not yet announced the show for the next youth production.
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