Theatre Salina is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to create live theatre to inspire, educate, and entertain. The vision of the Theatre Salina is to become the preeminent provider of live theatre and theatre education between Topeka and Denver. To embrace the role of “the regional theatre for western Kansas: by making quality theatre available to as many adults and children as possible.”
The Salina Community Theatre Association was organized in 1960 as a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit corporation. Plays were produced in the auditorium of the Washington Building, a former high school, from 1960 through the spring of 1971, when the building was torn down. By 1968 the Theatre board realized that it must provide its own building, but that a building would be a liability. We believed that we could raise the funds to build it. And so it was done. The Theatre raised $213,000 for construction and equipment. The building was completed and opened in 1973. The Theatre program has grown and expanded through the years.
HISTORY
CENTER FOR THEATRE ARTS
Theatre Salina has supported children’s programming since its beginning, bringing in a variety of traveling productions for young people. Salina Theatre for Young People (STYP) was the first incarnation of a structured children’s program. Over the years, the program’s name was updated to Center for Theatre Arts, reflecting the expansion from theatre classes to vocal music and theatre dance classes for all ages. We offer classes for students from 3 to 70+ years of age, and are the only performing arts academy between Topeka and Denver.
Center for Theatre Arts (CTA) classes and shows set a precedent for students who are passionate about the arts, and provide opportunities that might otherwise be unavailable to students in this area. The success of the program is evidenced by the number of CTA graduates that have gone on to theatre arts related careers. While not all students will become stars of the stage, each student can have an enriching experience by learning to sing, dance, and act in CTA classes.
