Why Community Theatre is Important

If you love the theatre I'm sure traveling to New York City to check out the latest Tony Award contender is everything. Alas, traveling to New York City from different parts of the country on a regular basis is not an option for many. The good news is local community theatre offers a variety of live theatre productions in your town or in a city near you. Community based theatre is essential for keeping live theatre accessible, and the performing arts alive in your community.

Community theatre is, as its name states, produced in the community, and performed by members of the community in their locality. Local performing arts theatres are a fantastic way to support your community and get involved. Whether through your town's cultural arts center or local theatre companies. Your neighborhood playhouse comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be a vehicle to show support for the arts, and youth groups as well as marginalized communities.

Non professional theatre is preserved through various funding streams, including grants and fundraising campaigns, and is traditionally non for profit. So, your ticket purchase (or donation) supports the cultural vitality of your neighborhood. Don't let the amateur of local theatre fool you. Talent lives off of broadway right in your hometown. Local theatre productions offer award-winning plays and musicals with big-talent actors, directors, costumers, and musicians without the big names. Check out the vocal range of Christine from "Phantom of the Opera" or the directorial nuances of "August: Osage County" from the talent that lives right next door.

Local theatre shows are also a great way to get involved, meet and greet, and even dust off your old dancing shoes. Check out the message boards at your cultural center, or check online and audition for a part in the chorus or the lead. Being a part of an authentic community theatre is where many people find a sense of belonging, and an outlet to express themselves. It is also where the roots of budding talent are nurtured.

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Comedies, Musicals, and Dramas Oh My!

Local theatre shows know no boundaries. Enjoy a night of comedy, swoon to the magical melodies of a musical, or bring the kids to see "SpongeBob SquarePants" at your community playhouse. Though local drama groups will tend to naturally play to the strengths of their community players, you never know who may be waiting in the wings. Local theatre groups are a great way to uncover talented members of the community, as well as foster the arts in our youth. What's next on the roster may surprise you. Different types of community theatre have something to offer in their own special way. Laugh until your sides split, or enjoy dinner and a show on date night. Community theatre provides a means for enjoyment and collaboration within the community.

Musicals

Community musicals run the gamut. From "My Fair Lady" to "Beauty and the Beast," appraise the local chorus and the orchestra all in one enchanted evening. Musicals are a magnificent way to destress and be swept away into the magic of live theatre. From sweet rhythms to a funky swing. Live musical theatre transports you through music, song, dance, and through its storytelling.

Comedies

Everyone needs to laugh. Getting out in the community and sharing a laugh with your loved ones and with the members of your community on and off the stage fosters the spirit of the community. Comedies in your community may take place in a variety of venues, not associated with your local community theatre. Shows may include dinner theatre or even an open mic at your local bar.

Dramas

Traditionally theatre dramas look at the world and reflect on society or a part of society. Your local drama group may offer the next show that truly encourages you to take a good look at society, and reflect on your feelings about what goes on in the world, or speculates human emotion.

Shows for Kids

Local plays and musicals are a great way to entertain the kids. Kids have a lot of energy and the energy of live shows is a tool to help children express and release their energy. Laughing out loud and vigorous applause is welcome. Plus many kids' shows are also interactive.

Dinner Theatre

Not always the best place to entertain the little ones, dinner theatres are most appropriate for adults. Enjoy a night of food and drink in your community, in addition to a show. Why not make your next date night at the local dinner theatre, and support the local arts.

Holiday Theatre

It may not be the "Rockettes Christmas Spectacular" but there are lots of fun community theatre plays that encourage the spirit of the holidays. Christmas plays for community theatre include classics like, "Miracle on 34th Street," and "A Christmas Story." But it's not all about Christmas. Your local theatre in the community may offer Hanukkah shows and shows for Kwanza as well.

Original Works

Give the new guy a try! Support the local playwrights in your community. Community theatre is a way to support artists from all facets of artistry. From costumes to music to acting and dancing, and with original works you can support your local writers too while participating in the collective.

All the genres of live theatre listed above can be found right in your backyard. These cultural and artistic narratives are an important part of community well-being and provide multifaceted experiences for you and your neighbors.

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Show Your Support

Community theatre is diverse as any art form should be. There are LGBTQ theatre companies, African American performing arts theatres, and youth community theatres throughout the land. Community theatre provides a safe space for artists to come together and express themselves creatively. This could not be any more important than for marginalized people within the community, and for youths who may not have an art department in their school.

Getting to a show that is produced within a community whose voices are not as prominent, or diminished in society, is an excellent way to not only show support but to hear them. It is also important for members of the community to take part in these organizations as a bridge toward empathy and understanding within the collective.

Youth community theatre can be an excellent part of a child's education. Not all schools provide funding for the arts, but it is tried and true that the arts are an important part of a child's development. Local youth theatre groups and classes help children with their communication skills, encourage their imagination, social skills, and collaboration, and help to build self-esteem. Theatre and the arts have also been shown to improve academic performance. Either enrolling your child in a youth community theatre program or showing your support at live theatre performances with your young ones inspires imagination and creativity.

Get Involved

There are numerous reasons to get involved with local performing arts theatres. Understanding your community and working towards a common goal, promotes strength within the community. Participating in performances helps you to explore your creativity, is a means of self-improvement, and also helps adults with their communication as well. Nonprofit theatre is also a testament to the importance of the arts in our communities.

Collaboration within the community

Attending and taking part in your local community theatre's production promotes unity and collaboration. Participating in your local community theatre is a way to meet and bond with members of the community. While taking part in a community effort you are working towards a common goal, which supports the emotional connection with one another in our hometown. By working together in a voluntary capacity community theatre is a means of self-improvement, and awareness of our surroundings. Live theatre may be seen as a form of entertainment but it is so much more. Theatre is an emotional experience that encourages empathy. Having empathy within our community is vital. At the end of the day, we're not living in a vacuum. We all need one another and have a need to understand one another. Collaboration in the community goes a long way.

Be Creative

Whether you know it or not you have creativity living inside of you. By acting, singing, or dancing you are free to express yourself through verbal and physical means of expression. Check out your local community theatre's auditions and let your creativity come out. Creativity aids us in our everyday lives by helping us come up with new ways to solve problems. Exercise your creativity to expand your mind and come up with a solution that may be a little outside of the box.

Self-improvement and Communication

Theatre is a means to explore your internal processes. By studying a character, and the given circumstances in a script, actors must explore their own feelings. Actors identify how they would feel under given circumstances which is an exploration of their feelings. By exploring your feelings you are initiating self-improvement and well-being. Performers must also communicate effectively. While up on a stage, emotions must be read, heard, and felt by the audience. By participating in your local theatre productions you also learn effective communication.

Nonprofit Theatre

Nonprofit theatres are not in it for the money. They're in it for the love of art. It can be amazing to sit in the audience of a community theatre and let the notion wash over you as you view the talent onstage. Community theater players are performing on a volunteer basis. Attending your community theatre's performances shows your support for art and solidifies its relevance in the community. The performer's dedication to the artwork and your attendance says a lot about what theatre means in the community.

Community Theatre equals Improvement in the Community

Theatre lovers absolutely benefit from community theatre. Being able to see a local musical, comedy or drama is right in a theatre lover's wheelhouse. But the bottom line is Community theatre benefits the entire community. The theatre is a place you can go with the whole family to enjoy a show at a reasonable price. It also provides a safe space for people to come together and express themselves creatively. By getting involved with and going to see local theatre performances you a participating in the collaborative spirit of your community, and strengthening your ties within it, creating a stronger community. It is also a means of improving yourself in your everyday life and has numerous benefits for kids including educational and emotional. Community theatre is made by the people in the community and is a way of reaching out to the community. It is essentially means of uplifting society one theatre playhouse at a time.

Find out what your local community has in store for its season and show your support and participation. Looking for tickets or have a show you want to sell tickets for? Go to Fourth Wall Tickets. They support theatres in the communities by giving them a platform to reach their audiences in their community, and beyond.