The Gilbert Theater has been a staple in the community since its founding by Lynn Pryer in 1994. At its core, the Gilbert Theater is a place that provides “quality contemporary and classical theatrical productions for our diverse community including children, the elderly, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged while at the same time giving local and guest artists a venue to display their unique talents.”
And the theater has been that for 30 years. Building on the foundation that Pryer left, Gilbert Theater has launched a brand new program called Second Stage. Matt Lamb, Second Stage and Education Director and Interim Artistic Director is spearheading the program (a collection of initiatives) and is excited about the launch.
“Second Stage will be a few different initiatives off our main stage. Some things we are introducing: Second Stage initiatives to bring shows, events, volunteering, and community outreach to the Gilbert. The first thing we are going to be starting with is our show initiatives. There are two new programs that we are introducing for shows, Gilbert Playhouse and Gilbert Golden. Gilbert Playhouse will be coming in March of 2025. Gilbert Playhouse is going to be a combination of adult and teen actors doing family-friendly shows. In March, we will have four shows. Two on a Saturday and two on a Sunday. Where we would audition, as any normal show would, where these shows take place is what Second Stage is. We aren’t changing locations. We are here at the Gilbert but they fall in between Main Stage shows,” Lamb said.
Gilbert Playhouse will be open to kids ages 13-18. The first Playhouse production will be Young King Arthur and run on March 15 and 16.
“It’s the first show I did in college back in 1999. [It’s] a lovely musical, young Arthur is not King yet and he’s learning a lesson about how right is might and not the other way around. Merlin decides to go to the future and pull one very special person back to medieval times to teach him this lesson. So he is a little bit of fumbling and bumbling, he ends up not landing exactly where he’s supposed to land. [Characters] Arthur, Sarah and Matt go on an adventure about learning that right is might and not might is right. And he also learns a little bit of lesson that girls are just as capable and smart as boys and can do the same jobs. But we do meet a lot of legendary figures,” Lamb said. “There are three knights that kind of are hammering home the lesson of might is right and we also have the villain Morgan Lafay and her champion the Green Knight. It’s a family-friendly show.”
The second show initiative is Gilbert Golden, open to individuals 60 and above. Gilbert Golden seeks to tap into the older generation and bring productions to the elderly community that doesn’t normally have access due to mobility. Launching in April 2025, with a production of Harvey, Gilbert Golden will give our senior community members an opportunity to participate in theater.
“You don’t see that. There will be stage movement within the show. For this particular one, it’s eight actors total with the hopes of the success of Gilbert Golden, we want to be able to take our show to local senior citizens, and their living facilities, because if they can’t get to the Gilbert, let’s take the Gilbert to them,” Lamb said.
Lamb is also reviving a previous initiative, Gilbert Guild. Gilbert Guild, a collective of Gilbert volunteers was started back in 2012.
“It's a title we give our volunteers. We have different volunteering opportunities here at the Gilbert. We have front-of-house, marketing, and back-of-house. For front of house, you would basically be a front door greeter, usher, and possibly, if needed, concessions. Marketing, we choose a day where we do what I like to call poster day. We’ll choose a day when so many people will get so many posters, we start on the right side of Hay Street. You go down and ask businesses if they would like to hang our poster up.”
A new initiative that Lamb is bringing to the Gilbert is Gilbert Gives.
He explained, “I’ve created Gilbert Gives. We have partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank, we’re asking all of our patrons to bring non-perishable food items and a toy to be donated at the end of the run. And we will also be accepting those in the lobby when our lobby is open before the show. Even if you don’t have a ticket to the show, we’re asking patrons to stop by, drop something off, and if they want to come see the show purchase a ticket, come and see the show. But we will do that before the shows open every night [during A Christmas Story]. We’ll be doing some other things with Gilbert Gives after the holidays, but right now we want to try and get this initiative moving.”
The Gilbert is finishing the year with a holiday classic and 2025 will bring a host of new initiatives and educational opportunities. To stay up-to-date follow their social media at https://www.facebook.com/gilberttheater and visit the website at www.gilberttheater.com.