OUR HISTORY
Circle Theatre Players
It started in 1979 with Chancel Drama, put on by members of the Church of the Covenant and directed by Bert McNary, retired drama coach from Averill Park High School. This led to an invitation from the Good Cheer Class (then the seniors group) to perform at their Thanksgiving party. Bert came up with a one-act play, Take It Easy, Priscilla, with the following cast: JoAnn Smith (now Lionarons), Audrey Trupia, Joe Trupia, Shirley Clouser, Don Edmans, Carolyn Smith (now Chenot), Edwina Randall, Allan Randall, David Booth, Carol Rifenburg (now Miller) and Brad Waldorf.
We had a lot of fun with that play and started thinking bigger: a three-act play for the public as a fundraiser. Bert agreed to direct it and came up with The Night of January 16, presented in March 1981. We named our group Circle Theatre Players because of the round building.
Tryouts were held and the cast was: Tom Coffey (Bert’s nephew), David Booth, Allan Randall, Joe Trupia, Nancy Davis, Audrey Trupia, Ann Waldorf, Edwina Randall, Tom Theilmann, JoAnn Smith, Shirley Clouser, Don Edmans, Fred Erickson and Carolyn Smith. All except Tom Coffey were members of the church. The play was a success, and we were off and running.
The next play was The Hollow, and we were in rehearsal at the time Bert died in October. Our pastor, Jim Clouser, knew that Joan Fuess had been involved in plays previously and asked her to fill in so the play could go on as planned in November 1981. After the performance, we formally asked Joan to be our new director.
Our early group did everything itself: sets, costumes, props, programs, publicity, refreshments, lights, etc. We did some pretty fantastic things with a small stage, enlarging it in every way possible.
We had a lot of fun—still do.
→ View a full listing of CTP productions.
I go pretty far back with CTP—to 1991 to be exact. I like to tell people I came into the theater one day and asked if I could be part of the action. They said, “Can you act?” I said, “Sure.” So, they said, “Can you act like a house manager?”
The rest is history. I usually house manage when I volunteer, and I like to call myself the “house mangler.” Back in the 90s, I did quite a bit of acting and directed two full-length plays and a couple of one-acts, both of which were selected to be presented at the TANYS festival. Ah, those were the days!
—Val Gray
I enjoy working with the folks who are attracted to Sand Lake Center for the Arts, as patrons or volunteers or both, and am lured by the frequently fulfilled expectation of creating and supporting an artistic enterprise: fine art, comedy, drama or music. The goals are clear, and the people who share them are fun to associate with.
—Eric Washburn
Sand Lake Center for the Arts
Circle Theatre Players enjoyed two fruitful decades at the Church of the Covenant. But we had greater ambitions—not just of being an accomplished acting troupe, but enriching our community through the creation of an arts center.
For that, we needed a building—and why not the most visible one in town?
From the start, we had our eye on the former Sand Lake Town Hall, previously the First Presbyterian Church of Sand Lake. This building, with its iconic bell tower and stained glass windows, had a storied history. Built in 1835, it served as a pillar of the Sand Lake community for over a century.
But, by the late 1960s, the congregation had left to merge with another local church. Although retrofitted in 1972 to house the municipal offices, courtroom and jail, the town government had quickly outgrown the building. When it moved to a complex across the street in 1999, the old church sat empty once again—waiting for someone to bring it back to life.
That someone was CTP. To our great luck, the town agreed to lease us the building at virtually no cost—that is, on the condition that we renovate, maintain and manage it. We enthusiastically accepted.
But the new Sand Lake Center for the Arts, as we were to call it, would need much more than a fresh coat of paint. In fact, the historic structure needed to undergo its greatest transformation yet. We’d have to install a new wiring system, lighting grid, telephone system, insulation, plumbing and fixtures, and new oil tanks. We’d have to raise and paint sheetrock to create the lobby and bathrooms. To bring the building up to code, handicapped access, fire escapes and an entirely new entranceway would need to be constructed.
As much of the original structure was repurposed or salvaged as possible. Even as we revamped the central performance space, we preserved the Victorian tin walls and ceiling, the stained glass windows and the original wainscoting wood paneling. To make the sound and lighting booth, we repurposed the old organ façade. In fact, the pipes from the old instrument are still perched on the rear wall!
These projects required a dedicated group of community volunteers, all of whom worked tirelessly to make SLCA a reality. Perhaps no one gave more than Alan Fuess, for whom the main room is now aptly named the Fuess Performing Space. Working closely with Gene Langley and countless volunteers, the new building slowly but surely took shape.
Money was also needed—lots of it. We set an ambitious fundraising goal of $200,000—a “capital campaign with no capital.” The effort was truly community-wide. At a May 3, 2002, kickoff fundraiser, the “keys” to the building were passed to CTP President Joan Fuess by town officials.
With regular calls for support in The Advertiser, fundraisers continued throughout 2002 and 2003. They were just as varied as the offerings envisioned for SLCA: an original staged musical, an orchestral concert, a mountain dulcimer and autoharp show, a gospel a cappella performance, a line dancing event, an old time country dance, a carnival and even a “Cabin Fever Dance Party.”
Even though it was a joyous, inspiring time for our community, it was a dark time for the nation. With the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks still looming large in public consciousness, fundraising appeals had to walk a fine line. “Asking for donations for an arts project may seem frivolous at such an unsettled time in our nation’s history,” we wrote in The Advertiser. “Yet opportunities for involvement in the arts may be even more essential now.”
Despite our optimism, global events still impacted Sand Lake. The day before it was to open, a musical revue fundraiser produced by a local student was canceled due to the death of a cast member’s brother in the new Iraq War.
OPENING DAY
It was months after we initially hoped, but on Oct. 18, 2003, the building was finally dedicated. At a ceremony on the steps of the new SLCA, Sand Lake Town Supervisor Steve Robelotto presented Joan Fuess with a 25-year lease. After an invocation by Reverend Robert Zittel, pastor of the Church of the Covenant, Joan delivered a speech about the new vision for SLCA.
A trumpet fanfare and ribbon cutting heralded the completion of this most ambitious project—and the beginning of the next chapter. Inside, the set was being built for our first production, Over the River and Through the Woods.
Even then, the work wasn’t through. In 2004, we gathered together again for construction work—this time for a storage barn. With the help of 60 volunteers and leadership of Robert Harris, the building was raised in a matter of weeks on the opposite site of the parking lot. “As well as building something for the center,” Harris said to the Times Union, “we built something among friends.”
Further funds were raised through the construction of a brick patio by local Boy Scouts. And a new, sturdy stage was installed in the early 2010s to replace the shaky wooden one from the town hall days.
Making the transition to SLCA-CTP was both exciting and challenging. With our wonderful new space came the possibility of growth and expansion, with many additional volunteers and the need for more structure. Having been a part of this experience, along with my husband—and eventually all three of our children and even our grandchildren—has been rewarding and exciting. It has offered us all a chance to work together with old and new friends as we hone our creative skills and discover interests and abilities that in some cases we didn’t even know we had!
—CarolLynn Langley
Back at the time the renovations began, it was nearly impossible for me to imagine that the dreams people had for an arts center could actually become a reality. However, people joined together, many of whom might never have crossed paths otherwise, and now all these years later SLCA-CTP is alive and growing. The opportunity to work through the years with new friends as well as many members of my family has provided satisfaction beyond all expectations.
—Gene Langley
SLCA’S EVOLUTION
In just 20 years, SLCA has seen more attention and accomplishment than we ever expected! With new resources and interest, we’ve expanded from one or two plays a year to five per season. Ticket sales are up, performances are often sold out, and we’re tackling new genres, themes and styles every day—SLCA is truly the talk of the town.
Our new arts center has also branched out far beyond theatre. The Squire Jacob Concert Series brought folk music to Sand Lake, and music programming has since expanded to other genres. We’ve invited local authors to inspire local writers, showcased visual arts with monthly gallery exhibits, and offered hands-on arts workshops for adults and kids.
We’re also proud to have introduced new generations to the arts through after-school activities, summer camps and all kinds of family-friendly programming. For years, Matinee Theatre Players—a group of retired actors—has performed free shows for grade school kids throughout the Capital Region. Working together with The Arc of Rensselaer County, we also established a troupe called the Circle of Friends.
There have been dark times, but we’ve gotten through them. When the pandemic came, it shook SLCA just as it shook the rest of the world. We were lucky to finish our run of All My Sons before the shutdowns—in fact, it was one of the last shows offered in the Capital Region before stage lights everywhere went out.
Once the doors closed, they stayed closed for more than a year. To fulfill our mission, we had to get creative—and we did, experimenting with online concerts, play readings and more. SLCA might not have survived, but we weathered the storm with the community’s generous support.
How far we’ve come from that Thanksgiving party in 1979! Today, we aren’t just a destination for the people of Sand Lake and Averill Park—SLCA is an attraction for anyone in the region who loves the arts. And we couldn’t have done it without our community partners, local businesses and you.
Who knows what’s next?
Matinee Theatre Players
Matinee Theatre Players was formed in September 2014 by a group of people who loved theatre—and happened to have Tuesday afternoons free.
Our original vision was to improve our individual theatre skills and bring theatre to children and senior citizens both in our community and around the Capital Region. The love of writing, reading and performing plays fueled the group and eventually caught the eye of others as well.
The vision took MTP further than the walls of SLCA, allowing MTP to stage original material at Ohav Shalom and the Terrace at Eddy Memorial. Free shows are offered to schools as well, bringing the group to Berlin Elementary and Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush.
In its second year, murder mysteries were added. The Poisoned Pigskin was performed to a sold-out crowd at SLCA, the Elks Club in Rotterdam and the Babcock Lake Community Hall. In 2017, Hoedown Homicide was added to our murder collection. And the group performed traditional tales for children at both Berlin and Averill Park elementary schools.
The group continues to grow, but our focus is still the same: create theatre that is free for children, bring affordable murder mysteries and short plays to our community, and take our shows on the road to continue the mission of SLCA.