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history
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outreach | production
history
A
little bit of history
Judith Yeckel and Vicky Lee, two graduate
students in theatre from the University of Missouri
- Kansas City (UMKC),
founded the Coterie back in 1979. The theatre is housed
on level one in Hallmark's Crown Center shops. Over
the past 25 years, the Coterie has given nearly 5,000
performances of 159 shows in residence, playing to
over 1 million people.
Artistic Director Yeckel established
a mission for the Coterie that has held firm: to open
lines of communication between races, sexes and generations.
Following Yeckel and Lee's tenure, Kansas City actor/director
Jim Tibbs became Artistic Director through 1988. Jim
further continued the mission of the Coterie by providing
classic and contemporary theatre, which challenged
both the audience and the artists. After Jim's death,
Pam Sterling then served as Artistic Director for
the next two years.
Jeff Church joined the Coterie as Producing
Artistic Director in 1990, coming from the Kennedy
Center in Washington, D.C., where he served as
a director and a playwright-in-residence. Over the
past 10 years, Jeff's goal has been to open the Coterie
up to be "multigenerational"-theatre for
all ages, redefining it to include families and diverse
audiences.
Joette Pelster joined Jeff in leading
the Coterie in 1993. As Executive Director, Joette's
previous experience managing Kansas City Friends of
Alvin Ailey brought a new level of expertise and growth
to the Coterie, moving the organization to an annual
budget of nearly $1 million in 2002. Joette's skill
at developing community partnerships has been important
in the life of the Coterie.
Mainstage
The Coterie, a professional Equity theatre,
is among the top five theatres serving families and
young audiences in the United States. Travel &
Leisure Magazine's top ten list of children's theatres
described the Coterie as "a theatre that resolutely
refuses to talk down to it's audience." The mainstage
season consists of six full productions: three for
older students (junior high and high school) and adults,
and three for younger audiences and families. The
emphasis is often on new or recent works.
Through ingenious programming, the Coterie
plays a vital role in the greater Kansas City area
developing new generations of audiences for the performing
arts with plays that reach a variety of age groups.
In 1995, the prestigious Lila Wallace Reader's Digest
Award was given to the theatre for its world premiere
of Alicia in Wonder Tierra, a great success
for the theatre involving actors in the Latino community
in that production and many others.
Numerous world premieres include: Sheldon
Harnick's Dragons, Edward Mast's Wolf Child:
The Correction of Joseph as well as The Very
First Family, Across the Plains, Nate the Great, Gatherings
in Graveyards, Oz and numerous premieres from
the Little House series. Further, the Coterie
mounted the professional American premiere of Lord
of the Flies in its Great Books/Banned Books season,
and the first stage mounting of Green Eggs and
Ham, the opera, after its concert premiere. Regional
premieres have included Athol Fugard's My Children!
My Africa! and Valley Song.
In 1999, the Coterie world premiere
commission of The Wrestling Season went on
to be produced around the country after it transferred
to Kennedy Center for New Visions 2000: One Theatre
World. The play was featured as the published play
in American
Theatre Magazine in November, 2000.
Many of the plays were developed at
the Kennedy Center's New Vision/New Voices new play
festival and at NYU's Educational Theatre Program
at Provincetown Playhouse.
In addition, the mainstage season includes
the Young Playwrights' Festival,
which features the works of teen playwrights fostered
through the Young Playwrights' Roundtable, facilitated
by Artistic Director Church.
Community/School
Outreach Programs
The Dramatic
AIDS Education Project is a collaborative program
between The Coterie and UMKC School of Medicine at
Truman Medical Center and the University of Kansas
Medical Center. Professional actors and medical students
present hard-hitting monologues about the lives of
HIV positive teenagers, followed by an intensive question
and answer period. The program, free of charge, reaches
between 8,000-10,000 annually.
Reaching
the Write Minds/Young Playwrights' Roundtable
is a unique dramatic writing program, which gives
a voice to emerging teen playwrights. Schools participating
in the program select nearly 400 students per year
for the specialized, dramatic writing sessions, taught
by professional playwrights. Each program is a powerful
example of how the Coterie profoundly enriches children's
lives.
The Coterie's outreach can also be seen
in the collaborative partnerships that reflect and
serve the Kansas City community, both in Missouri
and Kansas. Examples include Carlyle Brown's Buffalo
Hair, which merges the histories of the Buffalo
Soldiers and Native Americans and brought these communities
together under one roof. For The Wrestling Season,
the Metropolitan Organzation to Combat Sexual Assault
(MOCSA) provided valuable pre-performance workshops.
Frankenstein's education partner was the Midwest
Bioethics Center, delving into science and ethical
issues raised in the play. The Coterie explores "real
life" issues in a manner that facilitates dialogue
between generations.
Other partnerships at the Coterie include
a long-standing relationship with the MFA Theatre
Training Program at UMKC. Actors and designers work
at the Coterie in their final years of training, marking
their professional debut to the community. In addition,
acting apprenticeships are offered to five to eight
elementary, middle and high school-age students throughout
the year-allowing them to act alongside professional
actors. The Coterie also offers classes year round
at Crown Center and holds summer camp classes at selected
"satellite" sites at Pembroke Hill school,
Liberty Community Center, Legacy Park in Lee's Summit
and Notre Dame de Sion upper school.
In the fall of 2002, The Coterie underwent
a tremendous renovation of its facility. This renovation
added a kinetic new lobby, a theatre lab for onsite
classes, and an improved stage. The Coterie believes
innovative set staging, set design, lighting and costuming
allow children to visualize life in unique and personal
ways.
Production
History
1978
HUMS & POEMS OF POOH*
1979
Incorporation Year
HOMEMADE MAGIC*
1980
ONIONS IN THE ICE CREAM*
BUTTERFLY BALL*
1980-81
MUGNOG*
THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
MANY MOONS
FINDERS KEEPERS*
1981-82
HURDLES*
WINNIE THE POOH
ACT YOUR AGE*
ME, MYSELF & I*
1982-83
STEP ON A CRACK
HOUSE AT POOH CORNER
PHANTASMAGORIA*
HARBLEDOWN!*
1983-84
ZOUNDS, A PHONIC!*
HUMS POEMS OF POOH
MONKEY, MONKEY
ROTTEN APPLES*
THE MIRACLE WORKER
1984-85
CHALKBOARD SECRETS*
POOH!
MERLIN
TOMMYKNOCKERS
CHARLOTTE'S WEB
1985-86
KID'S INK*
THE WORLD OF POOH
KID'S INK (tour)*
HUCK FINN
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
CHARLOTTE'S WEB
BEAUTY & THE BEAST
LAUGHING MATTERS
1986-87
FIDDLIN' AROUND*
POOH
MONKEY & THE GOLDEN SUNRISE
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
CIRCUS HOME
THE JUNGLE BOOK
THREE FOR ALL
1987-88
SLAPSTICK!*
THE BEST OF POOH
LAUGHING MATTERS
DRAGONS*
WE, THE PEOPLE*
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
PINOCCHIO
TRIPLE PLAY
1988-89
GATHERINGS FROM THE GRAVEYARD*
POOH!
THE ODYSSEY
TAKUNDA
DIRTY BEASTS*
LAUGH-A-LOT
RANSOM OF RED CHIEF
1989-90
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
WINNIE-THE-POOH
LAUGHING MATTERS (tour)
ANIMAL FARM
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
THE UGLY DUCKLING
LAUGHTER IN THE RAFTERS
NATE THE GREAT*
1990-91
DOORS
WINNIE-THE-POOH
WE, THE PEOPLE (tour)
AMBER WAVES
AMELIA LIVES
DINOSAURUS
CHARLOTTE'S WEB
THE SECRET GARDEN
1991-92
A WOMAN CALLED TRUTH
WINNIE-THE-POOH
DENNIS, THE MUSICAL
RED BADGE OF COURAGE
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
MR. RACOON & HIS FRIENDS**
NEVERLAND
THE RED SNEAKS
1992-93
THE MEETING
WINNIE-THE-POOH
OLIVER TWIST*
WOLF CHILD**
BLAZING THE OUTBACK*
BUNNICULA
DINOSAURUS
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
1993-94
MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!
WINNE-THE-POOH THE PEARL**
A WOMAN CALLED TRUTH (tour)
THE HOBBIT**
THE VERY FIRST FAMILY**
OZ**
1994-95
THE FORMER ONE-
ONE-ON-ONE FORMER BASKETBALL CHAMPION
THE LITTLE PRINCE*
THE MEETING (Tour)
TO BE YOUNG, GIFTED & BLACK
DARKSIDE OF THE MOON
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS' SHOWCASE*
LYLE, LYLE, THE CROCODILE
MR. A's AMAZING MAZE PLAY
ANIMAL FAIR
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1995-96
ALICIA IN WONDER TIERRA*
MAXINE MAXWELL, STORYTELLER
GREEN EGGS & HAM*
ACROSS THE PLAINS**
THE VERY FIRST FAMILY (tour)
ANNE FRANK AND ME*
COYOTE MISCHIEF TALES**
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS' SHOWCASE*
ROCKY & BULLWINKLE
A WRINKLE IN TIME**
1996-97
BEYOND THE MIRACLE
MACHISMA...VOICES OF THE PAST
A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
WHALE
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS SHOWCASE*
VALLEY SONG
THE RELUCTANT DRAGON
LYLE, LYLE, THE CROCODILE
1997-98
THE LILIES OF THE FIELD
EVESTER ROPER, STORYTELLER
LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS AT PLUM CREEK**
A VILLAGE FABLE: IN THE SUICIDE MOUNTAINS (then
Kennedy Center transfer)
BUFFALO HAIR
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS' SHOWCASE*
SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE!
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING
1998-99
20th Anniversary Season
"Great Books, Banned Books"
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
MARK TWAIN ON MONDAYS
LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY**
OF MICE AND MEN
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS' SHOWCASE*
LORD OF THE FLIES***
FREE TO BE...YOU AND ME
THE 7 DWARFS
1999-00
LITTLE TOMMY PARKER CELEBRATED COLORED MINSTREL
SHOW
A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
THE WRESTLING SEASON** (then transfer to New
Visions 2000: One Theatre World, Kennedy
Center)
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS' SHOWCASE*
ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS
REALLY ROSIE
LITTLE WOMEN
2000-01
GATHERINGS IN GRAVEYARDS*
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
GLASS MENAGERIE
ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD,
VERY BAD DAY
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS' SHOWCASE*
A LITTLE PRINCESS
2001-02
SACAGAWEA**
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE **
PLAYING FOR TIME
BLACK BUTTERFLY, JAGUAR GIRL, PINATA WOMAN AND
OTHER SUPERHERO GIRLS LIKE ME
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL*
ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD,
VERY BAD DAY
2002-03
FRANKENSTEIN**
A LAURA INGALLS WILDER CHRISTMAS
ZORRO
THE TANGLED WEB***
SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE TOO!
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL*
THE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS
POOH & FRIENDS
2003-04
GATHERINGS IN GRAVEYARDS III**
SARAH PLAIN AND TALL
AFTER JULIET***
BREATH OF AN AMERICAN SPIRIT: SACAGAWEA***
EVERYDAY HEROES
THE BFG (BIG FRIENDLY GIANT)
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL*
SEUSSICAL* (TYA version)
2004-05
DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE***
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
HOLES
BETWEEN LAND AND SEA, A SELKIE MYTH**
THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID
TALES
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL*
THE DINOSAUR MUSICAL*
2005-06
THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM-1963**
STUART LITTLE
THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND
THE SEARCH FOR ODYSSEUS***
FERDINAND THE BULL
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL*
GEPPETTO AND SON*
2006-07
WITH THEIR EYES: THE VIEW OF 9/11 FROM A HIGH
SCHOOL AT GROUND ZERO
TALES OF A FOURTH GRADE NOTHING
THE GIVER
THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND*
MUFARO'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS
YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL*
TWICE UPON A TIME: DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX AND
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES
2007-2008
A STAR AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A HOLE
IN HEAVEN
THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
THE HAPPY ELF**
IN SPITE OF THUNDER: THE MACBETH PROJECT
A SEPARATE PEACE
SIDEWAYS STORES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL
YOUNG PLAYRWRIGHTS’ FESTIVAL*
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND* (TYA version)
*World Premiere
**Commissioned World Premiere
***American Premiere
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