Oddfellows Playhouse

Oddfellows Playhouse is a non-profit youth theater in Middletown, Connecticut. The playhouse provides programing to students of all ages, ranging from classic plays to circus skills. The organization serves over 1,200 young people annually and is Connecticut's largest and most active year-round youth theater.

History

Oddfellows Playhouse was founded in 1975 by four Wesleyan University students with a commitment to serve students of all backgrounds. The name Oddfellows comes from the initial building the playhouse occupied, which was owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.[1]

In 1996, the playhouse bought and renovated a 10,000 square foot building on Washington Street in Middletown, with extensive help from the City of Middletown.[2]

In 2017, ownership of the building the playhouse occupies was transferred to the City of Middletown, who granted Oddfellows Playhouse a 25-year lease at a rate of $1 per year. This was intended to stabilize the playhouse's financial problems as well as expand programing for city youth.[3]

Programing

Each year, the playhouse puts on two stage plays for each of their two age brackets: Junior Repertory Company (ages 12–14) and Teen Repertory Company (ages 14–20). Past shows have included Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream[4] and Washington Irving's Gold in the Bones.[5]

In addition to the stage shows, the playhouse also conducts a children's circus camp each summer. Skills taught include clowning, acrobatics, dance, stilt-walking, juggling, unicycling, art and puppetry.[6] The camp lasts five weeks and culminates in a live show with over 120 performers and a live band.[7]

Awards

Over the course of its 47-year history, Oddfellows Playhouse has been given numerous accolades. They were named "Community Champion" for youth services by Citizens Bank in 2003. CPTV featured the playhouse on a special called "art.culture.life". They were given an "Award of Excellence" in 1998 from The New England Theatre Conference. The NAACP gave the playhouse a "Community Service Award" in 1999. And in 2012, the playhouse was given an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.[8] Oddfellows has also been named as one of "Connecticut’s Best Children’s Theaters" by Connecticut Magazine from 2013 to 2019.[9]

References
  1. Frankel, Marilyn (January 15, 1978). "All Middletown's Their Stage". The New York Times.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2022-02-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Day, Cassandra (December 6, 2017). "Deal between Middletown, Oddfellows Playhouse ends theater's financial struggles". The Middletown Press.
  4. "Oddfellows Playhouse presents "A Midsummer Night's Dream"". November 3, 2021.
  5. Gordon, Jane (May 21, 2006). "Partners in Culture". The New York Times.
  6. Ryan Bernat (July 26, 2022). "Kids in Middletown learning tricks of the circus". WTNH.
  7. Staff reports (July 28, 2021). "Oddfellow's Children's Circus of Middletown performs Aug. 6". The Middletown Press.
  8. "Middletown: Oddfellows Playhouse performing OLIVER! opening Dec. 5". The Middletown Press. December 4, 2013.
  9. "Connecticut's Community Theaters: Reflecting Us Back to Ourselves". Connecticut Magazine. 9 February 2017.
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