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Parke Players, Inc |
Parke Players Company History Parke Players was formed in Rockville, Indiana on March 29th, 1971, for the purpose of providing live theatrical entertainment for the thousands of visitors to Parke County Indiana's annual Covered Bridge Festival each October as well as for those that attend the annual Parke County Maple Syrup Fair held every February. In The Beginning The first Covered Bridge Festival was held over a single weekend in October of 1957 and drew a crowd of 2500 to a simple 30x30 foot tent on the north side of the court house lawn. In 1958, the festival was expanded to two weekends instead of just one and the Saturday night entertainment was the "Belle of the Bridges", a 1890's style show presented on a makeshift stage at the east end of the tent. The attendance was growing to new heights each year and the Saturday night entertainment evolved into theatrical historical reviews that required relocating to the Rockville Elementary School gymnasium and the only available indoor stage in town. These shows rapidly became the pinnacle of the Covered Bridge Festival as they became more spectacular with each year's passing. Marching bands, torch light parades and elaborate musical reviews were all part of the festival entertainment prior to the formation of Parke Players. In 1969, the Parke County Chamber of Commerce purchased the Ritz Theater in Rockville from the Carey-Alexander theater chain. The theater was originally named the New Rockville Opera House when it was completed in 1913 but had been used solely as a motion picture theater since the late thirties. The Chamber of Commerce planned to continue to show motion pictures on weekends but replaced the permanent 30x20 foot screen with a retractable glass bead screen and restored the stage area to a useful state in the summer of 1969. The newly restored Ritz Theater stage was the site for two Band Wagon Tour of Parke County shows presented during the 1969 and 1970 Covered Bridge Festivals. These shows were musical reviews staged by the Parke County Band, the Parke County Choral Club with melodramatic skits provided by the same theater buffs that had written and produced the Covered Bridge Festival entertainment since 1958. The Buffs Assemble In the spring of 1971, a group of interested citizens gathered at the Parke County Tourist Information Center to discuss the formation of a civic theater company to provide the guests attending our annual tourist events with live theatrical entertainment. By early summer, a core group of individuals had formed and the Parke Players was a reality! Not only had the entertainment needs of the county's budding tourism industry been met, a forum had been created for anyone interested in the production of theatrical events. The 1971 Covered Bridge Festival presentation of "Ten Nights In A Barroom" was the Parke Players first production and was received with much acclaim. The small company went on to produce the popular Woody Allen hit comedy "Don't Drink the Water" for the Maple Syrup Fair the following February and to set a season schedule that would be repeated each year until 1991. Over the years, Parke Players produced other theatrical endeavors but only met success with the Victorian "Tent Shows" presented at nearby Billie Creek Village during their annual Steam Harvest Days. "Steam Harvest" is a mid-summer fair celebrating steam era agriculture machinery and in the summers of 1973 through 1979, the Parke Players ran three one act melodramas in succession all day during that weekend. Other summer theatrical events were brought in to the Ritz from Ball State University, Indiana State University and the University of Evansville, but the local response was tepid. Summer Success Parke Players continued producing the two festival shows each season until 1991 when the prospect of offering a summer musical was presented. Needless to say, there was much trepidation among the newly elected board of directors because of the previous summer season debacles. After considerable deliberation, it was decided that the company could afford to produce a musical that summer and in June of 1991, the Broadway smash hit "Grease" was presented to three sold out houses. Two musical productions were offered to a receptive public during the following summer season and the die was cast for a two show summer musical season until 1996, when outside commercial pressures forced a return to the single show format we currently enjoy. Each summer since 1992, we have seen many new faces at our casting calls and many more in the audiences. The proceeds from the first summer season were invested in the improvement of the declining auditorium and stage door area of the Ritz Theater and since that time, every nickel not necessary for the day to day operation of Parke Players has been invested in the renovation of the production facility. The second of the three stage lighting system installed since Parke Players first took residence in 1971 failed completely in 1993 and had to be replaced. The system is being replaced in stages with the final cost approaching $10,000. In 1997, the need for a permanent and properly designed audio system in the Ritz auditorium could no longer be ignored. Since the summer of 1991, audio gear was mooched from those generous enough to allow it. It was never the right design for live theater and was always in the wrong place: the extreme outer edges of the stage apron, just as you would see at a concert. In May of 1997, the board of directors voted to take the audio plunge and have a state of the art BOSE system installed in the house and four condenser microphones installed over the stage. The system was up and running in time for the summer 1997 production of "1776". A new era of technical production standards is almost complete. In April of 1998, Parke Players successfully negotiated with the Parke County Chamber of Commerce to purchase their home of more than twenty five years. The company's newly found popularity has spawned a growing public interest over the past six or eight years and the community has expressed interest in an expanded schedule of entertainment events at the eighty five year old opera house. Parke Players is looking forward to another 25 years of service to the community as well as to those visiting the area throughout the year. Plans for increasing the use of the building for the presentation of popular music shows are in the works. Watch for new and innovative entertainment opportunities to come to Parke County.
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