After much reflection, we’ve made the difficult decision to dissolve Circle City Theatre Company.
This was not an easy choice, but ultimately, we were unable to find enough individuals able and willing to serve on a working board. As anyone involved in nonprofit work knows—especially in theatre—it takes many hands, voices, and hearts to keep the curtain rising. While the passion was there, the capacity simply wasn’t sustainable for the long term.
We are incredibly proud of what we built together: a creative home for youth, sparked by urgent community need and driven by love, volunteerism, and a belief in young artists.
As part of our closure, all remaining assets will be donated to the NC Arts Incubator supporting their continued efforts to provide arts events, education, and opportunities in Chatham County. Please get involved with their excellent programming as participants or volunteers!
To our amazing youth participants — you were the heart of this company. You are talented, loved, and full of potential. It was our greatest joy to work with you. Please keep creating. Keep playing. Keep growing into your amazing selves. The world needs your voices, your vision, and your light. Never doubt your power to move an audience, build a community, or change the world.
Thank you to everyone who supported Circle City Theatre Company. The work continues—and we encourage you to support and uplift youth arts in Chatham County wherever you find it.
With love and endless gratitude,
Circle City Theatre Company
OCTOBER 25-27 Nevermore! Edgar Allan Poe's Final Mystery
Circle City Theatre Company had a fantastic run at The Plant in Pittsboro with a spooky and dark mystery... fitting for Halloween time. Our cast and crew had so much fun with the victorian costumery, effects, and set for this play.
About the Play:
It is the September of 1847. Edgar Allan Poe, tormented and restless, steps aboard a steamer in Baltimore, destined for New York. Yet, he never reaches his destination. Five days later, found delirious and wandering, Poe succumbs to death’s cold embrace. What transpired in those lost days? In this dark and imaginative rendering, the veil is lifted on Poe’s final, nightmare voyage, as his most macabre works twist and writhe into reality. With illusions, disappearances, and mounting dread, Nevermore! will leave you breathless—until the final, fatal moment.
About the Playwright, Julian Wiles:
Julian Wiles, a conjurer of tales and founder of Charleston Stage, has breathed life into countless works of fiction, many rooted in the haunted history of the South. His creations, celebrated far and wide, have bewitched audiences from distant lands. With 31 original works, Wiles remains a revered master of his craft, his stories echoing through time and across the stages of the world.
JUNE 15th 2024 JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL We had a fabulous time meeting neighbors at Community Organizing for Racial Equity's (CORE's) 7th Annual Juneteenth Festival celebrating Black artists and creativity in our community! CORE is a nonpartisan 501c3 non-profit organization working to build a network of community organizers working together to drive systemic change using solutions developed by those most impacted.
MAY 2nd - 4th THE YELLOW BOAT Our first play, The Yellow Boat by David Sarr, was an amazing experience. When selecting our inaugural production the feedback from our youth, parents, and the greater community was honored. The common theme among the comments and suggestions received was to produce a piece that is ‘deep’, ‘mature’, ‘trust young people with tough topics’, and ‘reflects the community’. The Yellow Boat, a transformative story written by David Saar checked each box. The core values of Saar’s work are resiliency, creativity, and unconditional love. Those same values are seen and felt right here in Chatham County. Thank you to the remarkable cast, crew, and production team that brought this story to life! And thank you to all our generous donors and sponsors that made this fee-free play possible. And a special thanks to our community partners at the Chatham County Public Health Department, UNC Hospice, and Alliance for AIDS Services - Carolina for participating and sharing experiences in the very special Talk Back session.
It is our mission at Circle City Theatre Company to provide a space for youth to be themselves and believe in themselves through high quality performing arts opportunities. As a new nonprofit organization, we absolutely rely on the generosity of our community of grant making organizations, sponsors, and supporters to make camps, classes, and fee-free seasonal productions like The Yellow Boat and Nevermore! Edgar Allen Poe, The Final Mystery possible. And of course, gratitude goes out to our parents and volunteers for the gifts of time and skills. We sincerely thank all of the amazing Circle City Theatre Champions for their critical support.
Are you ready to be a champion for Circle City Theatre Company?
As the only youth theatre in the county creating opportunities for young performing artists, donors are a vital part of our existence. Your one-time or ongoing monthly gift will help further our goals of:
Providing enriching year-round programming for youth, by youth.
Creating a strong fiscal foundation to ensure a strong future.
Being an engaged part of the community we serve.
Keeping wellness, clarity, and safety in all we do.