Gaslight Theatre Company was founded in August of 2003 when a group of ambitious Wilkes-Barre actors got together to produce William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play was produced on a shoestring budget, but after a successful run, our group of actors-turned-producers decided to continue producing plays; and Gaslight was born!
Our original mission was to bring high-quality productions of classical and under-produced plays to audiences in the Northeastern Pennsylvania area. Moliere’s Tartuffe was the second endeavor, and, thankfully, the positive reception it received helped our fledgling company build momentum. During the 2004-05 season, we revisited the work of Shakespeare on two occasions, producing two of his greatest tragedies: Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Gaslight also added works by Samuel Beckett, Pierre de Marivaux, and Sophocles to the growing lineup of theatre classics. In the three years that followed, we produced eight more plays, including the addition of a series of plays for children. Gaslight continued to produce works by Shakespeare and added a number of contemporary works to the expanding portfolio.
In 2009, Gaslight took a brief hiatus; although the company was idle, our wonderful members were busy enhancing their individual skills in preparation of a triumphant return! Some members completed advanced degrees, some acted, some traveled, and some began families.
In 2010, Gaslight was back on the stage with a production of Dancing at Lughnasa, and since then have produced dozens of musicals and plays, including Quiet Cowboy written by Gaslight member Matthew S. Hinton (marking our first production of an original play) and our reoccurring and ever-growing Playroom series, another original concept consisting of over 50 original one-act plays to date.
Although expanding our repertoire to include these great original works, our mission still remains to produce classical and under-produced plays, and as always, to continue learning, growing, and cultivating the arts in the NEPA region.
Gaslight Theatre Company’s five Core Values include a commitment to...
Collaboration: the understanding that all ideas and people are instrumental in production and the importance of being good citizens to the theatrical community;
Originality: producing classical, original, under-produced, and other works;
Respect: for the craft of theatre, for the audience, and for the artists;
Passion: our driving force for what we do and why we do it; and
Professionalism: consistently providing an environment where people feel valued, following the process, setting a standard, and exceeding expectations.
We thank our members, friends, family, and, of course, our incredibly awesome audiences for their support in making Gaslight what it is today.
