Naples Players
Encyclopedia
The Naples Players is a community theatre
company located in Naples, Florida
. The company was founded in 1953 and performs in the Sugden Community Theatre at 701 5th Avenue South in downtown Naples. It has been named the "Best Live Theatre" in Southwest Florida (including professional theaters) nine times by the readers poll of The Naples Daily News.
The Naples Players Organization was founded in February 1953. Its first production, I Remember Mama
by John Van Druten, was performed in the auditorium
of what is now Gulfview Middle School
. The group soon incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation and performed where it could in its first 22 years of existence in the Naples area, from local schools and storefronts to homes. In 1975, they established a home base for the next decade when a 40-seat playhouse was opened at 2363 Davis Boulevard. In 1985, TNP converted the now demolished Kon-Tiki movie theatre on Goodlette-Frank Road.
As the years passed, both the membership and audience for the company grew. However, as TNP entered its fourth decade of existence in the mid-1990s, the Kon-Tiki Playhouse began to suffer from a crumbling facade and mechanical breakdowns, and it soon became clear that a new location was necessary. Following an unprecedented fund raising campaign, and a partnership with City of Naples in choosing a suitable location, over $6 million was raised to build the Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples on a site provided by the City, which was completed in 1998. The Sugden Theatre sits only two blocks south of Gulfview Middle School
, where TNP staged its first production in 1953. Today, the company stages productions year-round, has a dues paying membership of 500 plus, and features the talents of volunteer actors, directors, designers and crew drawn from across Southwest Florida. The Theatre currently plays to an audience of over 65,000 patrons and season
subscription holders annually.
KidzAct is the youth
theatre
and theatre
education
program of The Naples Players, founded in 2002.
While TNP had traditionally produced a youth musical
in the summer, an initiative was begun in the early 2000s to create a year-round educational theatre
program featuring skills-building and production classes to children and young adults ranging from 4–18 years of age.
The Kidzact program now stages five productions annually. Children audition
to be admitted to the production classes, which make use in applying what the students learn in the skills building sections of the classes. There is a full-time director of KidzAct and contracted teachers specializing in voice
, dance
, improvisation
, and acting
. Scholarships to the program are available based on financial
need.
In the spring of 2007, KidzAct began an Outreach program. The program teams with local businesses and private donors to present plays in schools which do not have any type of a theatre
program. The program does not displace any existing teachers at the chosen school.
rehearsal
halls, a music room and library, scenic and costume
construction
shops, plus ticket and administrative offices for the full-time staff. It is located at 701 5th Avenue South.
theatre, with "European" style seating, meaning the aisles are located on the left and right sides of the auditorium
. The theatre features an orchestra pit
and 66 feet (20.1 m) fly tower with 29 lines of rigging
to "fly" scenery and lights from overhead. There are four motorized lines dedicated to stage lighting
, and 25 lines available for scenic use. The stage features a sprung floor
which consists of plywood and pine strips constructed with rubber cushioning. This type of flooring "gives" on impact to reduce and prevent foot and leg injuries to dancers. Blackburn Hall is the "mainstage" performance space of the company, as well as the KidzAct program.
space, meaning the layout of the theatre can be changed to offer different seating and performance
environments depending on need. The Tobye Studio has allowed the company to perform "edgier" material not necessarily suitable for a mainstage environment such as The Goat or Who is Sylvia?,The Laramie Project
, and The Fourth Wall
. It is also used as a forum for more intimate stagings of classic plays such as The Lion In Winter
and The Glass Menagerie
. The space is also used for KidzAct program performances and staged play readings through the company's "ETC..." program.
26.142399°N 81.797577°W
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
company located in Naples, Florida
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
. The company was founded in 1953 and performs in the Sugden Community Theatre at 701 5th Avenue South in downtown Naples. It has been named the "Best Live Theatre" in Southwest Florida (including professional theaters) nine times by the readers poll of The Naples Daily News.
History
The Naples Players Organization was founded in February 1953. Its first production, I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama is a play by John Van Druten. Based on the fictionalized memoir Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, it focuses on the Hanson family, a loving family of Norwegian immigrants living on Steiner Street in San Francisco in the 1910s.Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein...
by John Van Druten, was performed in the auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
of what is now Gulfview Middle School
District School Board of Collier County
The District School Board of Collier County, also known as Collier County Public Schools, is a school district in Collier County, Florida. The district has schools placed in four cities throughout the county: Everglades City, Immokalee, Marco Island and Naples. The district employees 2,900...
. The group soon incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation and performed where it could in its first 22 years of existence in the Naples area, from local schools and storefronts to homes. In 1975, they established a home base for the next decade when a 40-seat playhouse was opened at 2363 Davis Boulevard. In 1985, TNP converted the now demolished Kon-Tiki movie theatre on Goodlette-Frank Road.
As the years passed, both the membership and audience for the company grew. However, as TNP entered its fourth decade of existence in the mid-1990s, the Kon-Tiki Playhouse began to suffer from a crumbling facade and mechanical breakdowns, and it soon became clear that a new location was necessary. Following an unprecedented fund raising campaign, and a partnership with City of Naples in choosing a suitable location, over $6 million was raised to build the Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples on a site provided by the City, which was completed in 1998. The Sugden Theatre sits only two blocks south of Gulfview Middle School
District School Board of Collier County
The District School Board of Collier County, also known as Collier County Public Schools, is a school district in Collier County, Florida. The district has schools placed in four cities throughout the county: Everglades City, Immokalee, Marco Island and Naples. The district employees 2,900...
, where TNP staged its first production in 1953. Today, the company stages productions year-round, has a dues paying membership of 500 plus, and features the talents of volunteer actors, directors, designers and crew drawn from across Southwest Florida. The Theatre currently plays to an audience of over 65,000 patrons and season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
subscription holders annually.
Performance schedule
The Players' annual performance season includes seven main stage and four studio productions of more than 240 performances per year. The Players also present five KidzAct productions annually.KidzAct Youth Theatre Program
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
program of The Naples Players, founded in 2002.
While TNP had traditionally produced a youth musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in the summer, an initiative was begun in the early 2000s to create a year-round educational theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
program featuring skills-building and production classes to children and young adults ranging from 4–18 years of age.
The Kidzact program now stages five productions annually. Children audition
Audition
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist.Audition may also refer to:* The sense of hearing* Adobe Audition, audio editing software...
to be admitted to the production classes, which make use in applying what the students learn in the skills building sections of the classes. There is a full-time director of KidzAct and contracted teachers specializing in voice
Voice
Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
, and acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
. Scholarships to the program are available based on financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
need.
In the spring of 2007, KidzAct began an Outreach program. The program teams with local businesses and private donors to present plays in schools which do not have any type of a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
program. The program does not displace any existing teachers at the chosen school.
Performance facilities
The Sugden Community Theatre building includes two main performance spaces, two sprung floorSprung floor
A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best available for dance and indoor sports and physical education....
rehearsal
Rehearsal
For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...
halls, a music room and library, scenic and costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
shops, plus ticket and administrative offices for the full-time staff. It is located at 701 5th Avenue South.
Blackburn Hall
Blackburn Hall is a 326-seat prosceniumProscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
theatre, with "European" style seating, meaning the aisles are located on the left and right sides of the auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
. The theatre features an orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
and 66 feet (20.1 m) fly tower with 29 lines of rigging
Stage lighting
Modern stage lighting is a flexible tool in the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in the pursuit of the various principles or goals of lighting. Stage lighting has grown considerably in recent years...
to "fly" scenery and lights from overhead. There are four motorized lines dedicated to stage lighting
Stage lighting
Modern stage lighting is a flexible tool in the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in the pursuit of the various principles or goals of lighting. Stage lighting has grown considerably in recent years...
, and 25 lines available for scenic use. The stage features a sprung floor
Sprung floor
A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best available for dance and indoor sports and physical education....
which consists of plywood and pine strips constructed with rubber cushioning. This type of flooring "gives" on impact to reduce and prevent foot and leg injuries to dancers. Blackburn Hall is the "mainstage" performance space of the company, as well as the KidzAct program.
Tobye Studio Theatre
The Tobye Studio Theatre is a 100-seat "Black Box" theatre in stage parlance. It is a flexible performancePerformance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
space, meaning the layout of the theatre can be changed to offer different seating and performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
environments depending on need. The Tobye Studio has allowed the company to perform "edgier" material not necessarily suitable for a mainstage environment such as The Goat or Who is Sylvia?,The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...
, and The Fourth Wall
The Fourth Wall
The Fourth Wall is a 1992 play by the American playwright A.R. Gurney.It was originally produced in the United States in regional theatre...
. It is also used as a forum for more intimate stagings of classic plays such as The Lion In Winter
The Lion in Winter
-Synopsis:Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's château in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173...
and The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
. The space is also used for KidzAct program performances and staged play readings through the company's "ETC..." program.
External links
- Official Naples Players Site
- CNN/Money Magazine Citation
- Naples Daily News Review of "42nd Street" 7/3/11
- Florida Weekly Review of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" 7/2/09
- Naples Daily News Review of "Anything Goes" 3/5/09
- Florida Weekly Review of "Disney's Beauty and The Beast" 7/19/07
- Naples Daily News Review of "The Lion In Winter" 11/3/06
- American Association of Community Theatre
26.142399°N 81.797577°W