The Elden Street Players
Administration and History

Board of Directors, Officers, and Appointees

as of 12/10-12/11 (Elections to the board are held at the annual membership meeting in December, with Officers elected at the first board meeting in January)

The Company

The Elden Street Players were founded in 1988 and have been committed to providing affordable, high-quality theatrical productions.  As a community theatre, our all volunteer staff and casts are continuously striving to push the limits of what is possible in our intimate "black box space" at the Industrial Strength Theatre.

"Our brand of theatre is not for everyone, for which we make no apologies.  We try to offer theatre that is challenging and thought provoking, as well as entertaining." -- Rich Klare,  Past President

"In five years of writing about the local community theatre scene, the boldest area theatrical productions have come from the creative energy of the Elden Street Players (ESP)." --  Michael Birchenall, The Times Community Newspapers

The Elden Street Players is a member of the Association of American Community Theatres (AACT).  ESP is also a charter member of the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) program dedicated to the promotion of interest and involvement in community theater, as well as recognizing outstanding artistic achievement.

"It takes a lot of nerve for an amateur theater to tackle a daunting venture such as The Who's Tommy.  The entire show does justice to the original conception of that ingenious 1969 album.  In a word, it's a sensation."  -- Leonard Hughes, The Washington Post

 

"With productions like the one presented by The Elden Street Players, (A Raisin in the Sun) the raw human condition will live on in the 'industrial strength' nature of the stage." -- Michael Birchenall, The Times Community Newspapers

"This little gem (The Tenth Man) requires a slew of accomplished character actors to pull it off... apparently that's no problem for the Elden Street Players."  --  Leonard Hughes, The Washington Post
 

"Leave it to the exciting artistic direction of The Elden Street Players to tackle a monumental effort such as this... The Grapes of Wrath -- mustering all their theatrical energy to brighten the community stage." -- Michael Birchenall, The Times Community Newspapers
 

"Our Town is powerful.  Elden Street Players steps up once again and delivers a production that feeds the life of our souls." --  Michael Birchenall, The Times Community Newspapers
 

"The fascinating psycho-mystery play 'Veronica's Room' sets you up and pulls you in for a thoroughly satisfying journey into the bizarre." --  Brad Hathaway, The Connection
 

"With bold intentions, Elden Street Players -- with 'The Alchemist' -- has once again pushed the community theatre experience beyond the safe formulas for building audiences.  A full house on opening night showed there is a demand for intelligent theatre." --  Michael Birchenall, The Times Community Newspapers

Our board of directors includes a mix of artistic and business talent with a broad range of experience in theatre.  The company is led by President Jeff Boatright working with Artistic Directors Todd Huse and Mary Ann Hall (Theatre for Young Audiences).

If you are not familiar with Elden Street Players, please come see a show.  We guarantee you will keep coming back.  This website also contains several production archives that will give you a glimpse into what we produce.

Highlights from 2004-2005 Season

History of The Players

The Elden Street Players sprung up from efforts to stage the "Yulefest" with the Herndon Community Singers in 1986. As Herndon's Community Theatre project, the Players are all volunteers dedicating hundreds of hours to produce and stage serious dramas for the local community. The Players have a commitment to produce intimate dramas (and, occasionally, original works) not usually seen in community theatre.

The first season began with an original work by Herndon's Nick Rose, enrolled at the time at James Madison University. Nick's "Death by Direction" was premiered at the Herndon Community Center.  Before the Players had a name or a theatre to perform in, they produced the dark comedy "The House of Blue Leaves", directed, staged, and designed by Donna Huchel and Al Straughan, was performed on a postage stamp stage at a local dance academy (Coomber School of Music). The strength of the cast and the unusual nature of the play sold out all performances and developed a strong “word of mouth” for whatever play this unnamed group would do. Luckily, Les Zidel saw the show and offered to help in any way he could. Les’s participation resulted in obtaining an industrial warehouse for the production.

The next play, "Freedom of the City", was staged in that “industrial warehouse” and the name “The Elden Street Players” was born. The play is a powerful story about three people caught up for a few hours in the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland. Audiences were prepared for the emotions of the play by the armored personnel carrier lin front of the theater and the armed military police who collected tickets. Even before its redesign and renaming as the “Industrial Strength Theatre”. "Freedom" received critical acclaim and played to sellout audiences. The success of these first two productions and hard work of Les Zidel, David Fallen, Donna (now Davida) Huchel and Al Straughan were midwives to the birth of the The Elden Street Players

Les Zidel and Jean Goldsby collaborated with a joint Players and Community Singers' production of "Scrooge" which played to almost one thousand people at the Community Center.

The first summer season was highlighted by two plays presented at the NVTA One-Act Play Festival attended by 18 theatre companies from the Washington area. The Elden Street Players won three of nine awards with their production of Woody Allen's "God"; more than any other group. The Players also presented an original play by Diane Ney, a rising Washington playwright, "How I Spent My Fortieth Summer Vacation."

The Players received a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts as a new and emerging arts group, and were also funded through a long term generous grant from the Herndon Rotary Club. The Players hope to help other performing arts groups in the area through their efforts to create with the Town of Herndon the Industrial Strength Theatre.

In October 1989, the players staged the inaugural presentation at the Industrial Strength Theatre with their production of Lorraine Hansberry's "The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window," directed by David Fallen.

About the Theatre

The Industrial Strength Theatre was established as one of the very few municipal experimental theatres in the United States. Most "black box" theatres are found either on college campuses or in converted buildings of the inner city. The Elden Street Players "liberated" this warehouse from other industrial uses in November, 1988 when they staged "Freedom of the City" inside the concrete space. Following almost a year of design and construction phases, through public funding of the Town of Herndon, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the Elden Street Players, the Industrial Strength Theatre was dedicated on October 19, 1989.

You might notice that there is no real stage to separate the audience from the players. This hybrid design combines the best of an open arena stage with the single direction focus of a traditional proscenium stage. This flexibility is made possible by steep modular platforms specially made for this theatre's seating. The steep "rake" means that every seat is unobstructed and no raised stage is needed. The Elden Street Players designed the lighting grid over the performance space which provides countless angles for spotlights, all controlled by an upgraded computerized board inside the control room. None of the nearly 120 seats are further than 20 feet from the performance space, this provides for apparent "inside the set" intimacy.

From 1988 through 2006, the Industrial Strength Theatre was operated by the Town of Herndon through the Department of Parks and Recreation.

In February 2007, The Elden Street Players assumed complete operation and part ownership of the theater space.  While this facility is designed for the performing arts, it is available for rental by outside groups, organizations, and individuals. The Elden Street Players will provide technical and artistic support for events when the space is not in use by the company or town of Herndon.   For more information on renting the theater, call 703-481-5930 and leave a message on the voicemail following the main menu. 

[ Home ] [ Bylaws ]

Send mail to "webmaster @ eldenstreetplayers.org" with questions or comments about this web site.
Site Updated as of: 01/24/12 07:05 PM
Providing Quality Community Theater in Herndon, VA since 1988 -- Combining Bold Direction... with Extraordinary Artistry