[music playing] WILL PRICE: Coming up on Keystone Stories, community theatre.

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[audio logo] WILL PRICE: Welcome to Keystone stories.

Playwright Oscar Wilde once said, "I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms.

The most immediate way in which a human being can share with another.

The sense of being what it is to be a human being."

Theater is a lot more than standing on a stage and reciting lines.

It's about community.

In fact, there are well over 100 community theatres in Pennsylvania.

But as you're about to learn, community theatre is not only for the community, but it's also created by a community.

STAGE MANAGER: Doors open in 17 minutes.

[chatter] WOMAN: Someone is knocking.

Well, we're just about to go on stage for a "Moon Over Buffalo."

It is a two act play.

That is what is known as a door farce.

So it's a lot of people coming and going, mistaken identities, people acting crazy.

There's a sword fight.

There's chasing.

There's romance.

It's a little bit of everything.

Last night was opening night.

We had a full house.

And people were laughing from beginning to end.

It was a great night.

This is Buffalo, New York.

It's like Scranton without the charm.

[laughter] [chatter] I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm also excited.

Same, yeah.

Very excited.

It's been almost a year of work for some people.

BRITTANY HALL: You have to really be invested in it and really give a lot of not just your time, but your heart, and really believe in the importance of what this brings to our community.

MATT MICHRINA: It's extremely rewarding to see all that hard work kind of come together into a beautiful show.

[music playing] Please sir, I want some more.

[gasping] What?

Community really is part of every type of theatre because you are building community when you participate in a theatrical event, right?

Because it takes a village to put on a show.

What you see is the tip of the iceberg when you come to a show.

There are so many people involved in getting this show to happen.

And if you add everybody's work hours together, it would just be thousands and thousands and thousands of hours.

You don't always have as many people as you'd like for every production.

So everybody has to wear a lot of hats and pitch in where they're needed.

And it all comes together in the end.

Looking semi dashing.

Community theatre and it's the broadest sense is theatre made by and for a specific community.

So everyone who's creating it is a part of that community.

And the people are consuming it are part of the community as well.

MATT MICHRINA: It gives people an outlet to explore places and people that they don't necessarily encounter in everyday life.

Oh, as a matter of fact, I was needing a boy.

Good.

Then it's settled.

One parochial apprentice.

3 pounds please.

If you don't mind, cash upon liking, Mr. Bumble.

Cash upon liking.

So it kind of expands everyone's worldview.

It's just essential to every community.

I actually work over at the Smeal College of Business.

I'm the director of the MBA program and our doctorate program there.

One of the things that I learned over the course of my career is how valuable theatre is for everything that we do, especially in business, how to have a conversation with somebody, how to be extemporaneous in your speech, how to give a presentation, how to do public speaking.

Acting has been such a huge part of that for me.

George, you can't give up.

What about all your fans?

[laughs] My fans, fine.

I'll call one.

You call the other.

[laughter] George.

I really like coming here and seeing all my friends, talking with people.

It's also like a nice space because you get to really like just be who you want to be and because everyone here is a little weird and quirky because everyone's a theatre kid.

[singing] [thud] [applause] [music playing] KAREN VOLPE: I don't remember my life without theatre.

When I moved here in 1981, I had no idea the gem that was here both in beautiful Mishler Theatre, which is where ACT performs in Altoona Community Theatre.

It's one of the best community theatres in the country.

Altoona community theatre is a community based theatre company that provides volunteer opportunities for actors designers, artists, builders, kids, adults to get involved in theatre.

We have probably about 200 active volunteers.

We have some people that are involved in nearly every show that we do.

I have to tell them to take a break, so they don't burn themselves out.

But we have some people who come once every three or four years.

They're some musical calls out to them, and they feel the need to audition.

I really think it is the friendships that come out of each show.

You're building quite a little family.

Your found family.

ACT started, actually, in the 1920s.

A private elocution teacher in Altoona named Dean Dreifus had a dream.

And she started a theatre company.

And it started out as the Altoona Little Theatre and then became the Altoona Theatre Guild.

And then there was a growth spurt.

There was a Chicago stock company that was traveling and had a gig in Lakemont Park.

And they ran out of money.

So the Chicago stock company was abandoned here.

And they were like, hey, can we join you guys?

And that's when they incorporated in 1948 as Altoona Community Theatre, and we are celebrating 75 years.

The celebration of our 75th anniversary is an original work written and directed by Karen Volpe, a long-time ACT volunteer.

She's been a board member.

She's been a director.

She's been on stage.

She's been backstage.

So Karen is well versed in the history of ACT.

The show itself is telling the history of ACT through songs and scenes from shows that we've produced in our 75 year history.

But it's also about the community of ACT and the community that we're part of.

MAN: Just giving us some like interpretive dance.

I'm so good at interpretive dance.

Perfect.

Tell me when you're ready.

[piano] I was asked to write it and direct it.

And I enjoy doing both.

But I thought, how in the world do you approach that.

Do you bring back people?

Do you highlight certain shows?

What shows?

We've done so many, hundreds of shows.

What a great gift, George, to see what the world would have been like without him.

The show is a very unique production for ACT.

This is the first all original production that I'm aware of that act has ever produced over at the Mishler.

ACT is the star of this show.

And I noticed there's a different vibe in rehearsals than usual.

It's like celebratory.

They are representing-- they are standing in for everybody who has passed through x door and been in the audience, been a patron, been on the stage been backstage.

They are just representing everybody, and we're all celebrating.

I hope they take away from this that act is a very joyous organization with a lot of heart.

And I think they're going to leave feeling really good.

There are hundreds of community theatres within Pennsylvania.

Some community theatres have a home base like Altoona Community Theater at the Mishler.

And some community theatres are really mobile.

And you'll see them doing their shows in churches or in community centers.

So I'd say that's the biggest difference is maybe the size of the group and where their performance spaces are.

STEFANIE AUSTIN: Our mission is to entertain, inspire, and foster a love of theatrical arts.

Sock and Buskin is a community theatre.

We wanted to do community theatre a little bit differently.

To either join in the fight or take shelter like cowards.

Viva la revolution!

Viva la revolution!

Most of our shows have been murder mysteries, so interactive dinner theatre.

STEFANIE AUSTIN: It's a more casual atmosphere than a traditional show.

But it is staged very much like a traditional show, except that during the intermission portion, audience members get a chance to question the actors because spoiler alert, there is a murder.

So they get to question the suspects.

The actors all walk around the tables to our audience members.

And they get a chance to ask the actors questions and interrogate them a little bit.

And then we do the reveal after that.

You can always hear people, oh, I knew that, or, oh, I didn't catch that as we reveal all the clues that they were given throughout the show.

That's a really great way to introduce people to the idea of interactive theatre because of course it's optional.

But it does.

And they can still enjoy the show without participating.

But it gives them the opportunity if they would like it.

[music playing] We are a 100% volunteer community theatre.

So everyone who is part of Sock and Buskin is doing it in their free time for the love of theatre.

KARI WILLIAMSON: We really wanted to gather up talent that wasn't just actors.

We were looking for artists and builders and people that wanted to do lights and sound or choreography.

For a young group, and we're still learning about what our volunteers and actors want, learning about what our community wants.

So it's also a learning experience for us as well.

Shush.

Can't see that.

[music playing] STEFANIE AUSTIN: Theater can be a lot of things to different people.

For some people, it's there simply to entertain.

For some people, it's a creative outlet for them.

For some people, it's their support network.

LEAH MUELLER: Community theatre is so special because of the investment of local people.

And those who are participating in community theatre are doing it because they really love and care about it.

KAREN VOLPE: If you have a job behind a desk or that doesn't really require a lot of creativity, it's very important that you have a creative outlet.

And so if a theatre is in your community, there's that outlet.

Some people see theatre as this inaccessible thing that is for a certain demographic of people.

And we're trying to fight that stigma.

Community theatre is for everybody.

I think any arts organization that operates on a community level adds to the fabric of that community by providing arts exposure that people maybe necessarily can't afford to travel to see in the bigger cities.

When you see this house fill with people, you can see the smiles on their faces.

You're bringing joy to people who maybe had a really bad week or a really bad year.

And to them, this is a moment where they can come and forget about that and they can come enjoy really great art with people from their community who are giving of themselves to pull everybody together both in the audience and on the stage.

You're making this connection between the two groups of people.

TARA ENEDY: I think when people see themselves represented in stories, then they feel part of something larger.

[music playing] The theatre arts are often cultivated throughout childhood.

And our region has several high school theatre programs.

Here are two stories of some very talented youth from Johnsonburg and Ebensburg high schools.

I'm Ginger Schreiber, and I'm the drama advisor at the high school for the drama club/director for the past 20 years.

[singing] GINGER SCHREIBER: Every year we do a show at the Johnsonburg High School, a musical.

I started in 1997 was my very first show.

We did Oz.

Look at the stars.

I want the constellations too.

GINGER SCHREIBER: And this year we're doing Mary Poppins.

It's the most complex that Johnsonburg High School has ever done.

We have 17 students.

We pull from the seventh through the 12th grade.

Anybody that would like to be in drama is allowed to be in it.

[music playing] They're the cast, the prop movers, the extras, anything that we need for them to do.

Some of our props are even done by our students.

And this year we're blessed enough to have one of our seniors actually taught four kids how to tap dance this season.

[music playing] (SINGING) Stepping, stepping time.

GINGER SCHREIBER: Johnsonburg High School is like a family.

Most of the kids that are in drama are also in other things.

So they wear many hats at our school because it's a small school.

They come together every day.

They're brothers and sisters per se in either drama or sports or band.

Super-- cali-- fragilistic-- expialidocious!

[gasps] GINGER SCHREIBER: That part of being a Johnsonburgion is wonderful because you get to know everyone in your class, and you stay close.

You know your classmate, you know your lower classmate, you know the seventh graders.

It's so amazing to get a seventh grader that is a scared, shy little person and you give them just a little part their seventh grade year to get their feet wet.

And then to watch them slowly blossom and grow to be the lead their senior year, it is amazing to see that.

They get so much confidence.

They get so much power within themselves to conquer the world.

My name is Paul Seymour.

And I'm here to talk about our music theatre program at Central Cambria.

[singing] Our students get a very broad experience in theatre far beyond just producing one of the shows that we're working on.

(SINGING) Do, do, do, do.

PAUL SEYMOUR: So many of them come out of their shell and develop lifelong skills, and partly it's because our community is so receptive to them.

They're thrilled.

They're excited.

And beyond that, they're learning.

And these skills will carry them into adulthood.

There are so many examples of when we have been in need as a music theatre program and our community has stepped up without question.

It's because our community wants our students to be successful.

They want to see this program and our students be successful.

So it's a very uplifting.

[music playing] Beauty and the Beast is wonderful because there are so many subtext themes that our students could really latch on to.

And it was just so wonderful because every student in Beauty and the Beast was busy.

There were no leads, even the company had so much to do that all students were involved to a high degree.

And it was really exciting.

(SINGING) And who knows-- PAUL SEYMOUR: Just yesterday I heard a student who's a current junior talking to a incoming freshman about our music theatre program.

One of the things that this boy said to this incoming freshman was will never find a school family like this.

[music playing] There's something about theatre and the emotional connections that students make and how difficult it is to travel the journey and to gain the confidence to put yourself in front of an audience that's very bonding.

Master, may I take this opportunity to say, I was against it from the start.

PAUL SEYMOUR: I think the nature of music theatre is that everybody, the students, the adults involved all become co teachers.

And it's not necessarily always the adults that lead the learning.

But it's the collaboration of all of the students and all of the adults each staying in their own lane with their own specialty that makes it work so well.

I think it's kind of a metaphor for life.

And it's a wonderful opportunity for students to learn that working together, it can produce just wonderful results and create wonderful memories that will last them a lifetime.

I'm backstage in what's known as the theatre in the park, the home of the Stone Arch players of Lewistown.

This next piece comes from a 2016 episode of our town and features this troupe.

My name is Phyllis Johnson.

I am the president of the Stone Arch Players' board of directors.

The Stone Arch Players is the Lewistown area community theatre.

Where are we going to put her?

[laughter] [music playing] PHYLLIS JOHNSON: Our purpose when we were founded was to bring live theatre to the community.

This is our 50th anniversary season.

We do three major productions a year.

And we try to bring the audience mystery, comedy, drama, anything that they might like.

I ask you to be on time and On time?

With that death trap you call a road, we're lucky to be here at all.

PHYLLIS JOHNSON: Stone Arch started in 1967.

The local people were talking, and they decided, the one thing that we don't have here is a community theatre.

Thiry and Paul Olbrich had a background in theatre.

And so it started where they were just teaching acting, and they were going over scripts until they finally decided that, why don't we do a major production?

They put on The Mouse That Roared.

It was a success.

And from that point on, they just continued.

We were offered the building out at the community park, and we moved out there in 1982.

We're trying to reach out to bring young people in, different people in so that we can continue for another 50 years.

It's just an amazing group of people from different walks of life who come together to do this amazing, creative thing.

I don't know if I would be friends with some of these people if I weren't involved in the theatre, and my life would be that much poorer for it.

STEPHEN SWITALA: My name is Stephen Switala.

And I am the executive director of the organization based here in Philipsburg called Front and Centre Productions.

(SINGING) I got the horse right here.

The name is Paul Revere.

STEPHEN SWITALA: Front and Centre Productions was founded in October 2009.

We are a nonprofit arts organization based here in Philipsburg, seeking to provide visual and performing arts activities to the community.

Our summer youth theatre program was started in 2009, and its name is IGNITE Youth Theater.

And IGNITE stands for inspire, grow, nurture, impact, teach, and experience.

And we've involved a number of students.

Probably over the four years, we've had about 200.

We hold auditions in April.

And we invite anybody that's ages 4 through 18 to come out and participate and be a part of our program.

IGNITE Youth Theater usually is divided into two groups.

We've been doing two productions the last couple of summers.

We have one that's a little shorter and is designed for the younger kids.

And it gives them an opportunity to be on stage and get a little bit more than just a stand-in role.

So we do that one.

And then we also have our bigger production, which is a lot of the older kids.

And we do full-length Broadway musicals in Philipsburg.

[music playing] Front and Centre Productions has also started our Inspire Community Theater program, which incorporates all ages.

In the fall of 2011, we did a version of A Christmas Carol that included about 40 people ages four through-- I think there was someone there that was maybe in their 60s.

So that was fantastic.

I have to say-- STEPHEN SWITALA: We rehearse in a number of different locations because we don't currently have a home.

We are undergoing a campaign to find a space that we can call our own here in Philipsburg so that we can continue to offer all kinds of arts opportunities, both performing and visual arts, in a space here in the Downtown so that we can bring even more people Downtown to help them know a little bit more about what a great place Philipsburg is.

I could not do this as the executive director by myself.

We have a great staff of volunteers that help.

Most of them are parents that help with the sets and the painting and the costuming.

As the kids age out of our program when they graduate from high school, a lot of our staff stay on because they've developed a strong sense of family within our program.

This last story comes from State College and features a community theatre that never uses a script.

WOMAN: We ain't got time to dilly-dally.

When I say happy, you say valley.

Happy.

ALL: Valley!

Valley!

[chanting] WOMAN: When I say blue, you say red.

Blue.

ALL: Red.

WOMAN: Blue.

ALL: Red.

Yes.

Yeah!

[applause] JAMES TIERNEY: Improvised theatre is anywhere from 1 to 10 people on stage that are taking a suggestion from the audience and that's inspiring them to tell a story.

That story is completely made up on the spot.

It could be inspired by events in their lives.

The reason why it works is because everyone on that stage trusts each other.

Any time somebody brings an idea, it is accepted that that is the idea.

And then we respond productively to that idea.

All right, 1, 2, 3.

Hamburger City!

[speaking all at once] I heard Cornville.

[laughter] I heard Cornville.

JAMES TIERNEY: So our shows right now, Friday nights at 7:00, those are our flagship shows.

You'll see a variety of improvised theatre from very slapstick comedy where there's lots and lots of laughs to-- we have a couple of groups that are dramatic improv.

So you might not laugh for the entire 25 minutes, but they're telling a story from start to finish, very narrative based, with some drama in it.

Can I get a chair that my feet can touch the ground?

No favour lost.

[laughter] JAMES TIERNEY: We say improv shows are going to be great as long as everybody is making everybody else look good.

So whatever move I make, if you're accepting that and responding productively to it, and then I'm accepting that and responding productively to it, you're not going to have a bad show.

The idea of yes, and in improv is not necessarily saying the words yes, and.

[laughter] But let's take those two things separately.

Yes means that you're accepting what is said on stage as now part of the reality that you and your partner have created.

The and part is then building on it productively, responding productively.

You have fair skin.

[laughter] It may just crisp up.

[laughter] I'll be OK. Fine.

JAMES TIERNEY: It's tough.

It's a lot tougher.

I used to say that I've taught intermediate macroeconomics to students, and it's easier to teach that than it is to teach.

Yes.

[?

mayonnaise-r-us ?]

is part of my family heritage?

But I don't-- JAMES TIERNEY: But really, what we want people to get out of being in our company and coming to our shows is feeling a part of community, people who have got your back.

Before every single show, when we're warming up before a show, we always say, I've got your back, to everybody else who's going to be on stage with us.

We want them to feel welcomed, a space that they can take up space.

We always say the Blue Brick Theater is somewhere that you take up space and be loud and be proud.

That's what I really think people get out of it.

Hilda, I told you, you don't need to flounce like a ghost.

That's my job!

JAMES TIERNEY: I believe art is the creation of something from nothing.

And at the core, that's what all art is.

If I pick up a guitar and write a song, I'm creating something from nothing.

If I have a blank canvas, and I'm painting something, there was nothing there.

Now, there is something there.

So it's a very broad idea of what art is.

That's how I define it.

And improv is right there with it.

You're creating something out of nothing.

That's what happened to my friend.

I don't know you, but you started hugging me too.

[laughter] [applause, cheering] [music playing] See you next time on Keystone Stories.

[music playing]