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Friday evening,
November 10, 1950, the first official meeting of
the Venice Little Theatre Guild was held at the
Venice Country Club, on U.S. Highway Business 41
where Publix is now located. Forty-one people
attended and elected a slate of officers. They
voted to try to obtain use of a former U.S. Air
Force Quonset hut as a permanent headquarters for
their theatrical endeavor, on the grounds of the
Venice Airport. Muriel Olds Dundas, Sonia Terry,
Lotta Munday, Fran Barclay, Louis Suter, and James
and Jane Lambert were all important backers of
this initial effort. The City of Venice quickly
granted permission for use of the Quonset hut. On
November 23, 1950, the name of the group
officially became known as Venice Little Theatre (VLT).
During 1950, the box office was outside.
The first
production was “The Torchbearers,” and a crew of a
dozen volunteers began work constructing a stage.
One of those volunteers was Bobby Feinsod, who 10
years later, helped build an addition to the
theatre. Twenty-two years later, Bobby was the
main building contractor at the site of the
present theatre. Folding chairs from a local
funeral home provided seating in the first
theatre. The local garden club donated
landscaping, Girl Scouts put panels on the inside,
and building bees, similar to a barn raising, were
held on Sundays, with women serving potluck
suppers. Tickets for the first show went on sale
for $2 at Dick and Meadows Drug Store, located
where T.J. Carney’s Restaurant now stands at 231
West Venice Avenue.
Just one month
after the organizational meeting, the first play
opened, and the Venice Gondolier reported “the
opening production last night of ‘The
Torchbearers’ was one of the biggest and best
things that ever happened to Venice.” The next
show was “Over 21,” followed in March with “Ever
Since Eve.” Mrs. Fran Barclay directed both shows,
which played three performances each. The summer
was spent building flats, creating dressing rooms,
making a prop loft, and painting the outside of
the building in order to be ready for the new
theatre season.
In 1953, Alice and
Seymour Smith moved to Venice and starred in
“Angel Street.” Alice and Seymour were active,
dedicated volunteers for more than 30 years. After
their deaths, a memorial fund benefiting the
theatre was established in their names. Chris
Magee and his wife, Fran, also began volunteering
with the theatre at this time.
After 10
successful years, in 1960, it was decided to begin
looking for a larger building. It took until 1973
before the theatre finally found its present
quarters at 140 West Tampa Avenue in Venice, which
had started its life as the gymnasium of the
Kentucky Military Institute. In the interim, many
of the people responsible for the success of
Venice Little Theatre included Bobbie and Johnny
West, Joan Dillon, Geri Becker, Yvonne Pinkerton,
Ruth Brothers, and many others who moved to Venice
and became involved in the theatre’s life. Geri
Becker and Yvonne Pinkerton are still volunteering
regularly, and a theatre scholarship fund is named
in memory of Ruth Brothers.
In November 1973,
after major renovations, Venice Little Theatre
moved into the new complex. The first show in the
new theatre was “Li’l Abner.” Rehearsals were held
over a three-month period at the old theatre and
even on runways at the airport, while the new
structure was being prepared. Costumes for “Li’l
Abner” had a limited budget of $50 for 70
costumes, and they were made in the lobby of the
old theatre, as well as in the home of the costume
designer for that show, M.B. (Mac) Macfarlane.
Louis Sinclair
wrote in the Venice Gondolier, “Venice Little
Theatre could be labeled the theatre that refused
to die.” In 1979, the mortgage was paid off while
Jack Taylor was president of the board of
directors. In 1984, a fly loft was built which
meant a new mortgage. Between 1987 and 1989, VLT
grew and hired its first artistic director. The
theatre had a total attendance of 14,000.
The Silver Foxes.
In 1993,
attendance topped 20,000, and the senior troupe,
the Silver Foxes was formed. Stage II was built
and dedicated to contemporary, experimental, and
original works. In 1995, Stage II opened for its
first full season with 25 subscribers. In 2000,
the theatre completed a $2.4 million renovation
and expansion that added balcony seating to the
MainStage.
Presently,
volunteers at Venice Theatre number more than
1,500 and at least 25 shows per year are presented
in the two auditoriums that now exist: MainStage
with seating for 432 has surpassed 3,500
subscriptions, and Stage II, which seats 90, has
exceeded 500 subscriptions. A cabaret series that
began in 2002 now presents four productions each
season.
In 2008, the board
at Venice Theatre unanimously chose to remove
“little” from its name. According to Marketing
Director Laurie Colton, Venice Theatre has been
recognized as the third largest community theatre
in the United States, and the largest per capita.
Clearly, the name “little” does not describe the
magnitude of what Venice Theatre has become. In
2010, Venice Theatre will host the International
Amateur Theatre Festival, the first theatre in the
southeast to have this opportunity.
The information
for this article came from volunteers, some of
which have worked with the Venice Theatre for more
than 35 years. We understand many people were
involved in the makings of this great theatre and
wish we could mention all of the people who have
worked so hard, and continue to do so … it is a
work in progress! The staff of Venice Gulf Coast
Living magazine wishes to thank all of you for
helping to create theatre at its best!
Photographs
Courtesy of Venice Theatre
Printed May/June 2009
Web May 2009
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The 1950 debut
audience.
The bell-bottom
60s at the airport building.
TIMELINE
1950: Venice
Little Theatre (VLT) is formed by 40 volunteers.
The theatre presents a three-show season in a
converted hangar at Venice Airport.
1956-57: Total
attendance for the four-production season is
1,440.
1972: The company
has to leave the airport theatre.
VLT purchases one
of Venice’s original 1926 buildings, the former
gymnasium of Kentucky Military Institute.
The theatre seats
286, and the local media calls VLT “the little
theatre that wouldn’t die.”
1975: VLT hires
its first paid employee, a part-time manager.
1987-89: The
theatre hires its first artistic director. Total
attendance is 14,000.
1988: Education
programs begin with a summer camp.
1993: Total
attendance tops 20,000 for the first time.
After-school classes begin with one class per
week. The Silver Foxes, a seniors-only performance
troupe, meets for the first time.
Further renovation
results in the building of Stage II, dedicated to
contemporary, experimental, and original works.
1995: Staff
positions are realigned to include an
Artistic/Managing Director. Partnership is formed
with the Loveland Center.
Stage II opens its
first full subscription season. There are 25
subscribers.
1996: Renovation
continues. VLT expands and updates MainStage to
seat 358.
1997: MainStage
attendance exceeds 43,000. Summer camps expand to
three full “TheatreFests”, with 108 students.
Year-round class enrollment tops 100 for the first
time, with five classes per semester.
1998: In an
independent study, VLT is revealed as the second
most-frequently-attended theatre in Sarasota
County.
1999: VLT hires
full-time Education/Outreach director, and becomes
the third community theatre in U.S. to implement
Technical Theatre Apprenticeship Program.
2000: VLT
completes a $2 million-plus, four-phase
renovation. Facility is now A.D.A. compliant,
seats 432 in MainStage and 90 in Stage II. It
contains multiple classrooms and rehearsal spaces.
VLT’s Theatre for
Young People production of “I Never Saw Another
Butterfly” becomes part of Spielberg’s U.S.
Project Tolerance, in conjunction with Jewish
Community Center and Venice High School.
2001: VLT’s
production of “Fool For Love” takes Best
Production Honors at Florida Theatre Conference
and and Southeastern Theatre Conference, and joins
10 other shows nationally at AACTFest in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
VLT brings home
the first national award for a Southwest Florida
theatre.
Total attendance
exceeds 68,000.
2002: VLT’s
production of “Tartuffe” takes Best Production
Honors at the Florida Theatre Conference and
Southeastern Theatre Conference.
VLT hires its
first full-time Development/Advancement Director.
2002-2003: VLT’s
“The Good Woman of Setzuan” takes Best Production
Honors at the Florida Theatre Conference and
Southeastern Theatre Conference. This is the
fourth consecutive year at FTC and the third
consecutive at SETC. The show is recognized at
AACTFest in Torrington, Connecticut with four
awards.
Stage II, in its
8th season, sees dramatic increase in subscription
sales, from 245 to 405. Total attendance nears
90%, with expanded performance runs.
VLT is officially
commended by both
the City of Venice and Sarasota County for
“Outstanding Accomplishments and Contributions to
the cultural richness of Sarasota County.”
VLT conducts a
series of community workshops to gain input on
current artistic needs and ideas for future VLT
growth. More than 150 government officials,
teachers, students, arts and civic leaders,
business owners, and financial advisors
participate.
2003-2004: With
grants from local foundation and the City of
Venice, VLT purchases adjacent building and
parking lot. Immediate effect is that off-site
storage becomes on-site.
MainStage
subscriptions increase 11% to 3,199; Stage II
subscriptions increase 12% to 455.
2008: Venice
Little Theatre is selected to host the 2010
International Amateur Theatre Festival and
officially changes its name – with unanimous board
support – to Venice Theatre. We’re not “little”
anymore!
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