The outreach teaching programme of the Fulbright took me to South Bend, Indiana, where I was supposed to share about Indian Theatre at the St Mary’s College which shares boundaries with the much-acclaimed Notre Dame University, and its hinterlands housing the unique Amish community.
Driving around the city, a tall, compelling building caught my attention and so did its logo — ‘South Bend Civic Theatre’. It’s theatre by the community, for the community, roping in marginalised people to share their stories.
It was founded in 1957 by two University of Notre Dame graduates, who believed community theatre should be a vital part of this area’s culture, and that aspiring actors who resided in this community, needed a space to develop and showcase their talent. While early performances were held in homes, hotels and various non-conventional spaces in Notre Dame, they staged most of their productions post 1968 at the firehouse, a local historical landmark, in South Bend’s Near Northwest neighbourhood.
In January 2007, the beginning of the Civics’ 50th Anniversary, they moved to a new theatre space, in the heart of downtown South Bend, in what had formerly been a first Church of Christ Scientist. The iconic domed building is a South Bend landmark and has sealed the Civics’ position as an anchor of the region’s art community.
Over the years, many interesting spaces came up around the Church and the same have been retained and shaped. So there is a main foyer, a dramatic staircase leading to the main auditorium, a side walk converted to a balcony, waiting lounge and library, the basement having rehearsal spaces and an intimate theatre. All this adding drama to the ambience.
Though the objective of the Civic theatre was clear — to cater to the local community, they did not launch without hurdles. One of which was how to inculcate the habit of going to watch a play in the community as people were accustomed to listening and watching local folklore. The community was mixed, consisting of Latinos, Latinx and University communities and other ethnic groups. Many of the plays which were doing well, were performed with an all white cast. If these plays were to be done by a mixed group, would the mostly white audience be interested in an unfamiliar show, featuring rapid-fire hip-hop and numbers sung in Spanish? These were some of the questions the theatre faced. But they decided to take the plunge anyway.
Aaron Nichols, actor, designer and director and the new executive director of the South Bend Civic Theatre, says, “Reaching a new community requires patience, humility and a sustained commitment. We tried very hard to involve the community in this theatre. Our most successful project was woven around the play In the Heights. This was not just a play, but a part of a movement for a community wide outreach initiative. While the steering committee was deliberating on scope and mission, I was searching for strong Latinx directors and designers. Once that was in place, the passionate group roped in sponsors. And we asked a simple question, ‘Are you fund raising or friend raising’. This was no cakewalk, but we moved in well.”
With this expanded scope, they began planning a diversity symposium on Race and Identity in American Theatre. “We subsidised performances for our Latinx communities, and organised a multi-faceted visual arts exhibit. We were skeptical in the beginning about the symposium, but we garnered support from theatre stalwarts and the academia. Because of the strong media coverage and community interest, the symposium was a standing-room-only sell out. To ensure the project’s success, we confirmed bilingual ushers, offered English and Spanish translations of our programme and dedicated an entire performance to our Latinx community. We also had a student photographer to document all the proceedings,” Nichols recalls.
The theatre space is open for the local community at a very reasonable cost. “An intimate theatre houses small shows and also backs up as a rehearsal space. Our lobby is used for art exhibits of local Latinx artistes. We have regular readings of plays, poems, short stories by established writers as also the newer breed. These are well attended and get the audience to come in regularly. To many this is like second home,” says Nichols.
‘In addition to live theatre performances, many young artists have participated in the Civic’s educational programming and attended Civic productions. There is a year-round theatre conservatory which instructs students from second through twelfth grade, providing in-depth classes in a variety of theatre arts. Each module is taught by expert instructors, ranging from working professionals to award-winning educators.
Running simultaneous to this is the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) since 2009, roping in students to see live theatre through Civic’s day-time school performances. It also offers scholarships to dozens of deserving students and is a member of the American Association of Community Theatre (AATC), being recognised as one of the top 10 community theatre facilities in the country.
As I walked away, one thing that the director said lingered on, ‘This is not ‘our’ theatre, but the theatre of the community. All we promise is to take you to a place away from the everyday routine and bring you back changed for the better. If you think art has the power to change lives, you are among friends tonight.” So true!
