IN THE BEGINNING

In the fall of 1929, as the financial world was coming apart, two small groups of people interested in amateur theatre production, met and agreed to unite their efforts. The first group, calling themselves "The Players Guild" was started by Elva Schell when she came to Lansing from the upper peninsula. She had already started a small theatre group in Marquette, and was very interested in continuing her theatre activities in Lansing. The minister of her church, Reverend Ingvoldstasd encouraged her, and offered the use of the facilities at Central Methodist Church. Ultimately, about seventy-five people came together to form the new organization, and they elected Levon Horton as president, with Elva as vice president. They had chosen a play, The Passing of the Third Floor Back, hoping to be ready to perform in January of 1930. Dues were $1 per month.

The second group was headed by August Fischer, director of the Lansing City Recreation Department. He called on Ralph Rose, then director of the Little Theatre of Jackson, to help him organize a new group to be called "Civic Theatre." They planned to produce one play a month, and directors would be paid by the City Recreation Department.

Both groups were small with few resources. In October of 1929, on the advice of Ralph Rose, the two groups decided to merge. Since the larger group had a board of directors in place, they were retained adding August Fischer as Executive Secretary. They chose the name Lansing Civic Players Guild, and began to work on their first production, The Trial of Mary Duggan. Auditions were advertised, and a cast selected. Rehearsals were conducted in the basement of the church, and in people's homes. All work on the production was done in committees. There were committees for: play-reading, finance, membership, production (properties, stage design, make-up, costumes, electrical effects, and house (advertising, publicity, house management, and tickets). Everything was in order to put on the first production when the royalties were suddenly pulled, and they were left without a play to perform.

The new Guild scrambled around and came up with Captain AppleJack, which was not as good a play, but was available. By the opening night on March 24, 1930, many people were eager to see a play, including the Governor of the State. There were many theatre parties, with people dressed in furs and jewelry. Over 1000 people attended the opening at Lansing Eastern High School, a record that stands to this day. The local papers gave it a good review, but some people who were there have said that the play did not hold the audience's interest, and a few even left at intermission.

The second season saw plays given in a smaller venue, hoping to capture the interest of the original audience. Those first years were a struggle. Members became not only actors, but stage hands, scene painters, ticket salesmen, promoters, costumers, and anything else the needed doing. By putting on plays that did not require royalty fees, and keeping their costs down by begging and borrowing props and costumes, they began to move ahead. They had a strong commitment to bring good theatre to the Lansing community. It was very helpful when the Boys Training School Chapel was offered free of charge for performances. At the start, Lansing Civic Players did not own a single square inch of space themselves.

As the years passed, many members came and went, office spaces changed, and auditoriums changed, but the basic premise of the Civic Players never wavered, to provide the people of the Lansing area with good community theatre.

For more history, and interesting facts, along with a list of every show every produced, please purchase Our First Seventy Years. It is on sale for $20. It has pictures and cute stories.

LCP is a member of the Community Theater Association of Michigan (CTAM).