In the week before she spoke to Lawrence Central Rotary on April 29, Theatre Lawrence executive director Mary Doveton supervised the return of a water buffalo head to the Museum of Natural History and took part in a contest to pick the best bloody Mary recipe for the theatre bar to feature at the upcoming performances of South Pacific.
The water buffalo head was a prop for the recently completed production of The Explorers’ Club . Other parts of the scenery included a life sized stuffed brown bear, also from the museum, pretend poisonous snakes and a full sized giraffe skin rug created by a theatre volunteer.
At their new Theatre Lawrence facility on Lawrence’s westside, Doveton oversees 835 volunteers. “It’s been a quantum leap from the smaller, old facility we were in for years to the new 35,000 square foot facility,” she said “and has required more staff and volunteers. Although,” she added “not all of them have to create a giraffe skin rug.”
Theatre Lawrence began in the ‘70s as a community theater, building sets, rehearsing and giving shows in whatever spaces they could find. In 1984 they moved to a remodeled former church, which was damaged by a fire in 2003.
In 2012, after a capital campaign, which is still going on, construction began on the new theater ,that opened in 2013 with a performance of Ragtime on the new mainstage.
Theatre Lawrence also sponsors a concert series, and programs for children and seniors.
The 2015-2016 season will feature six full scale productions, community activities, children’s shows, and activities and opportunities for seniors.
