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| In 1985 a small group of
citizens from the Howell community gathered in a basement with
the idea of forming a community theatre group in Howell. From
this gathering, the Mid-Michigan Performing Arts Company (MMPAC)
and its subsidiary groups, The Howell Community Theatre (HCT),
and the Confederation of Intergalactically Talented Youth (CITY)
were formed. In 1989, MMPAC became officially a non-profit
organization with the mission to encourage and foster many
aspects of the performing arts. With a tremendous growth in
membership, volunteer base, and audience size, the group
re-organized in 1991 as The Community Theatre of Howell. The Community Theatre of Howell's mission is to promote the performing arts in Livingston County. We offer four quality productions to the community each year, two youth productions, many programs and workshops in various theatrical disciplines, and a two-week summer camp for youth. We pride ourselves on family entertainment and we provide a structured cultural experience for everyone involved. The stage provides invaluable opportunities for youth, offering them a positive experience that improves self-esteem, confidence and cooperative skills. The Community Theatre of Howell opened its doors with The Lion in Winter opening in the spring of 1986. In the spring of 1994, CTH records were broken with sellout crowds of 500 plus for Fiddler on the Roof, and in the Spring of 1996 had, again, sellout crowds in a production of The Wizard of Oz, with a cast of 106, including 70 munchkins. In the spring of 1997, the Community Theatre of Howell produced Annie, with instead of your typical cast of 30-40, with 8-10 orphans, featured 36 orphans in a cast of 90. Our guests were on their feet after every performance; these are memories that the 70 munchkins and 36 orphans will never forget. We have also partnered with the Howell Schools when presenting such classics as Our Town (winter 1996), Miracle Worker (winter 2000) and To Kill a Mockinbird (winter 2002). This offered high school students a reduced ticket price for class credit and an opportunity to be exposed to the performing arts. Since 1996, we have offered dozens of workshops to the community Over the past 19 years, we have grown exponentially, becoming the largest theatre organization in Livingston County with over 800 members and over 200 season ticket holders. In 1996, our 4 Y.O.U (For Youth Opportunities Unlimited) subsidiary was established (replacing C.I.T.Y.) and in 2004 was replaced by the CTH Youth Theatre. These programs have been very successful and over 200 children have participated. In 1996 our first 2-week summer camp started and has been a continued success each summer since. The focus of the opportunities for youth has always been on the process, not the performance. We have had fifty to sixty youth attend each year to learn various aspects of stagecraft. Some years we have had teen group leaders assisting with the program and other years the program is run by adults. For the CTH Summer Youth Theatre Camp, we offer the Emily Paquette Memorial Scholarship to assist with camp tuition. Emily was one of the first members of our first youth group - C.I.T.Y. Applicants need to submit a letter stating what it would mean to them to attend camp. The board reviews the letters and makes $200 available each year. |
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Ticket Office: (517) 545-1290 | Theatre Phone: (517) 376-4134
email: webmaster@cththeatre.org