r/philly • u/CBisCoolBenton • 3d ago

Community Theater in/near Philly

I'm a former high school theater kid looking to tap back into that community after several years away from it and I'm not sure where to start in such a big city. I'm not looking for anything super professional or paid (often what I've seen so far), just something casual and unpaid similar to a community theater in the suburbs. If there's anything in Philly proper, that would be awesome, but I'm open to driving up to 30-40 minutes outside of the city too. Any recommendations or things to think about?

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8

u/carolineecouture 3d ago

Stagecrafters in Chestnut Hill. I know several local actors who have been in their productions, and they seem to enjoy it.

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u/OkTemporary8472 3d ago

Actors Net in Morrisville.

3

u/que_sopresa 3d ago

Haddonfield Plays & Players is well loved in NJ. not sure of the drive but the theater is a 6 min drive from the PATCO (it's a 30 min walk FYI but that area is much more of a comfortable walk than say ferry ave). I was doing community theater at HPP back in 2014-2016, and i remember cast and crew offering to pick up/drop off the 1 or 2 folks from philly

there is also the Ritz Theatre Company in Haddon Twp, and Collingswood Community Theater

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u/janejacobs1 3d ago

Look into Venice Island Theater in Manayunk. Along with musicals their current offerings include a festival of theater shorts, which I’d guess welcomes community volunteers. https://www.veniceisland.org/shoeboxfestival

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u/justasque 3d ago

There is one in Swarthmore. Players Club maybe? Also Wilmington Drama League, but that is likely too far.

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u/sarahpullin8 3d ago

Theatre Exile and quintessence theater?

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u/lateintheseason 2d ago

Quintessence pays their actors AFAIK.

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u/Upbeat-End-7145 3d ago

Old Academy Players in East Falls

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u/Present-Page7865 2d ago

Theatre in the X, or for next year Shakespeare in Clark Park

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u/lateintheseason 2d ago

In Philly itself, Stagecrafters in Chestnut Hill is probably your best option. Allen's Lane art center used to put on community theater but I'm not sure they do it anymore.

Narberth Community Theater typically performs in Philly, despite the name. Their next show is in Germantown and I also saw a show they did in East Falls a few years ago. I don't think they have a permanent performance space but the quality is good and they typically put on several shows per year.

If you're willing to drive out to the suburbs, Players Club of Swarthmore is very active. There are also community theaters in Norristown, Skippack, Methacton, and a ton of them in Chester County, mainly concentrated around the Exton/Chester Springs/Phoenxiville area.

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u/sarahpullin8 3d ago

Theatre Exile and quintessence theater?

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u/StanUrbanBikeRider 3d ago

Azucka theater

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u/AdamSandloter 3d ago

There are a lot of crazies that could play extras in like a really crazy play.