Avon Players
Avon Players is a nonprofit community theatre located along the banks of Stony Creek in the Historic District of Rochester Hills, Michigan. Located two miles from the heart of downtown Rochester, Michigan. Avon Players has served the Metro Detroit Area since 1947.
History[edit]
Avon Players was founded in 1947. Many of the original members had earlier been part of a church theatre group. The first years of its existence, the group performed plays (no musicals for the first five years) at a local school cafeteria/auditorium.
The name "Avon Players" was inspired by Avon Township and Stratford-upon-Avon. The Avon Players theatre group was established when Rochester Hills, Michigan was still called Avon Township.
Avon Players owns its own playhouse, a unique multiple A-frame design, built in 1965. It was designed by the Mt. Clemens, MI architect John L. Pottle, to be constructed at a cost of $50,000. The land on which the theater sits was donated by Sarah Van Hoosen Jones (1892-1972), a great-great grand-daughter of one of the original settlers in the Rochester/Avon area, Lemeul Taylor. Van Hoosen had grown up on the Taylor Farm (founded in 1822 by L. Taylor, later called Van Hoosen's Farm). In 1959 Sarah sold to Avon, for $3,000, Lot #108, which is the lot on which the theater physically stands and abuts the Clinton River along Washington Road. Later she leased the group three adjacent semi-triangular lots - they were Lot Nos. 105, 106, and 107. These three lots comprise the parking lot for about 150 vehicles. The condition of the "gift lease" was that they be used only for the purpose of use as parking for a community theater and "for no other purpose." The lots were given for $1 per year lease (originally a 25-year lease but later extended in perpetuity.) On Sarah's death, the three lots were bequeathed to Michigan State University, which continues to honor the agreement to this day.
The governing body for the group consists of a nine-member Executive Board elected by active members at an annual meeting. The playhouse is located in the Historic district of Rochester Hills.
Typical season[edit]
Volunteers bring to the stage five full-scale productions. Full scale means a computerized lighting system, sound effects equipment, costumes, live orchestra, completely constructed sets, and scenic backdrops painted by local talented artists.
Seasons have included award-winning dramas, British farces, Broadway musicals, and mysteries.
Youth theatre[edit]
In addition to five regular season offerings, Avon Players puts on a Youth Theatre production – either a musical or a large-cast play – for students in the sixth through twelfth grades.
Seating chart[edit]
Avon Players theatre seats 229 guests. The lines in the image to the side indicate elevated platforms within the theatre.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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