We perfom 8 shows a year plus various special events. Nestled in the middle of the historic College Hill neighborhood, we perform eight shows per season, and see an average of nearly three thousand patrons. Our all-volunteer workforce number in the hundreds. The facility is wheelchair accessible with gentle ramps, and we are currently working on being completely ADA-compliant. Wichita Community Theatre maintains a balanced budget for each season thanks to our ticket sales, personal and corporate donations, and our dedicated volunteers. We have a long and varied history, dating back to our founding. Volunteer theatre in Wichita began in 1927, known then as the “Little Theatre of Wichita,” and in a short period of time became an active and driving force within the Wichita community. The onset of World War II severely limited the theatre’s activity; however, in 1946 a rebirth of the theatre was cofounded by Mary Jane Teall. During this time the theater used the facilities of the Unitarian Church. The 1950s brought a new organizational thrust using volunteer efforts to develop and promote the growth of the organization and WCT obtained its 501(c)(3) IRS tax status. During this period of time, WCT obtained a permanent home for auditions, storage, practices, and other administrative needs. Fountain was purchased and remodeled into the WCT Workshop in the early 1960s. Productions were held at Wilner Auditorium on the WSU college campus. According to the February 6th, 1963 edition of Variety magazine, after the Broadway Theatre League dropped Wichita from its itinerary, Wichita Community Theatre stepped in and underwrote two performances of the touring “Miracle Worker” and one performance of “A Program for Two Players” by Helen Hayes and Maurice Evans. The article continues describing audience sizes in the 1960s:
In 16 seasons the Community Theatre has developed an average audience of 4,000 per show, including 2,800 season subscribers paying $6 for a series of four productions. That represents more than 1% of the city’s population. When Century II opened in downtown Wichita in 1969, a “little theatre” (today, the Mary Jane Teall Theatre) was included to accommodate around 600 people per performance. This became the new home for WCT “mainstage” productions. The workshop continued to house costumes, box office, smaller stage productions, and stagecraft needs. The workshop has been home to special productions, and for several decades hosted “Commedia”, a summer satirical musical and comedy r***e. During the 1984-1985 season, the number of shows per year grew from four to eight, with four shows being performed at Century II, and four shows being performed at the Workshop. During the 1991-1992 season, financial issues forced the Board of Directors—rather than dissolve WCT entirely—to move all eight productions that season from the Little Theatre in Century II to the current Workshop at Fountain and Second. A few seasons of royalty-free shows and extremely limited budgets later, WCT regained its financial stability. Today, WCT maintains a fund for large purchases such as our new accessible concrete sidewalk and newly refinished floors. All patronage and donations above our normal operating expenses are put into this fund. In recent years, WCT has entered the digital age by starting an electronic mailing list and comprehensive website. Efforts are underway to digitize all known history of WCT since its humble beginnings decades ago.
