"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead ~ In my little hometown, NO group has produced the dramatic changes in our community & our schools & our relationship to the larger community around us than Bryn Athyn Community Theater. Not exaggerating, just a fact.
B-Act started 33 years ago with our first production, Arsenic Old Lace, performed on the stage of the Assembly Hall. If theater historians visited Bryn Athyn today & went looking for the site of that first production, they would not be able to find it, search they high or search they lo. It's been gone these 11 years, transformed (literally) into the Mitchell Performing Arts Center. And the Mitchell Performing Arts Center (MPAC to most folks, The Mitchell to me) changed EVERYTHING about the Academy schools & community.
The Mitchell's website describes it to a T ~ "The dream began in the 1980’s when a group of theater enthusiasts in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania collaborated to dream up new visions of a community theater. Among this group was Mimi Mitchell, longtime supporter of the performing arts and drama teacher at both the Academy of the New Church and College. In addition to being one of the major benefactors of the project, Mimi contributed her substantial enthusiasm and theatrical experience to the project."
It started with that small group of theater enthusiasts, but it would never have happened without a couple of determined people who broke the resistance to building what is now considered an iconic campus building.
The story behind the building of the Mitchell Performing Arts Center played like a melodrama. It is difficult - unimaginable! - to believe the lack of interest in building what is now considered an iconic place & space. Back then, everything was about sports. Even when building did proceed with the performing arts space (which only happened after deftly placed pressure from a couple enthusiasts), there was no matching grant for funds raised as there had been when the Asplundh Field House was renovated & expanded; certain key features - which could only be included at the time of construction - were not added. But virtue saved the day & the theater was built!
Not that anyone in the audience would know. From the moment the curtain raised on The King & I, everyone fell in love with The Mitchell. It has been a hotbed for theatrical talent within the schools & Bryn Athyn & beyond. The Mitchell Performing Arts Center personifies, embodies, shouts "COMMUNITY!!" from its rooftop.
And it wouldn't have been more than a cockeyed-dream meeting skeptical scowls if it hadn't been for that small group of committed theater enthusiasts known as Bryn Athyn Community Theater. Mega bravos!!
But B-Act had been a major, albeit quiet, ground breaker for more expansive community long before 2002. It was, to the best of my knowledge, the first official Bryn Athyn community organization to welcome people outside of our faith. Hard to believe in this day & age, opening it up was a controversial subject & there was not complete agreement it was the right thing to do. How well that decision has played out over the years.
Such years! Such amazing productions, including original productions written by B-Act members, including Liz Kufs' Avalon and Kent Cooper's Under the Shadow of Thy Wings.
Being on the B-Act stage changed at least one life - mine. Back in the days when our productions were performed on the Heilman Hall stage, I was cast as Mrs. Boyle in The Mousetrap. Cameron didn't cast me because I delivered the best audition - he cast me because I was the only one he could dragoon into volunteering, in spite of almost no acting experience & (sadly) little to no talent. But being on stage opened an opportunity - through a wildly serendipitous turn of events - to step outside of myself for the first time. By the time I tried out for & won the delicious role of the sarcastic & quick-witted Doreen, in Tartuffe, I was infinitely more adept at stepping outside of myself. (My B.A. friends told me, "Doreen brought out a whole new you!", while friends from beyond B.A. said, to a person, "Type casting.")
From it's inception to present day, Bryn Athyn Community Theater has personified the real deal when it comes to being an awesome example of true community spirit.
In its 32nd year, B-Act is as energized & splendid as ever. Pirates of Penzance was nothing short of over-the-top FABULOUS throughout its sold-out (!) performances. The future looks dazzling, with the multi-talented, energetic Justine Brannon (Mabel, in Pirates) taking the reins as B-Act president, building on a strong foundation of previous productions & Boards.
It is not exaggerating to say that the high school, the college, the community (both immediate & beyond) would not be even close to what they are today without the spark & spur of Bryn Athyn Community Theater, the dreams of its small, committed group of enthusiasts, and the talent of its cast & crews over the years.
BRAVO! to an organization that changed its hometown and, in so doing, changed the world.
Encore!!
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