CURTAIN CALL: Stagecrafters' different approach to community theater

The Stagecrafters Theater might employ professionals, but that doesn't mean the term "community theater" is lost on them.

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CURTAIN CALL: Stagecrafters' different approach to community theater

POSTED: Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 1:00 PM

The Stagecrafters Theater might employ professionals, but that doesn’t mean the term “community theater” is lost on them. As a staple of Chestnut Hill for over 80 years, Stagecrafters has been consistently creating productions with an incredible focus on detail and professionalism, especially considering their size. As Yaga Brady, one of the group’s directors and my tour guide, tells me, “The overall quality that we strive for is much higher than most community theaters. The idea is always to get the best possible actors.” By employing semi-professionals and aspiring young actors they have been able to put on shows that attract people from all over the Philadelphia area to fill their 185-seat theater.

Starting on June 10, the Stagecrafters Theater will show Arthur Miller’s The Price, which is centered around two brothers trying to determine the worth of their dead parents’ belongings. While this play focuses on the struggle between making money and retaining integrity, the Stagecrafters seem to have no problem finding a middle ground. They seem to be able to strike the perfect balance between professionalism and avocation by hiring by “professional” actors and still taking the opportunity to serve their community.

During the off-season, they offer pay-what-you-will” readings for anyone who wants to see them. This summer, the Reader’s Theater will start July 15, featuring Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Edward Albee’s The Goat, Who is Sylvia and Menage a Trois. The Stagecrafter’s Theater is also open to the community for presentations during the Chestnut Hill Book Festival and hosts an annual Halloween show written by a local child as well as the occasional jazz concert.

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