In the fall of 1983, Steve and Tricia Crawley put a notice in the Mesquite newspaper inviting any interested persons to a meeting at their home to start a community theater in Mesquite. Approximately six people came that first night. Tricia Crawley provided the artistic leadership of the fledgling group, and Steve marshaled the other members to raise funds, find rehearsal and performance space, and get the word out that Mesquite now had a community theatre. They also made flats, scrounged props and costumes, and recruited directors and actors. The bylaws to make Mesquite Community Theatre a nonprofit corporation were signed on January 24, 1984.
The first rehearsal space was the fellowship hall of a local church. This church also loaned the sanctuary on Friday and Saturday nights for performances. This meant the set had to be built every Thursday night and torn down after the performance on Saturday night. Later the auditorium at Mesquite High School was rented. In those days it was thought important to have an audience for dress rehearsals, so Senior Center members were invited free of charge. These were sometimes the biggest audiences of the run.
Finally, The City of Mesquite bought an old hospital, renovated one part to create the Black Box Theater, and built the rest of the Arts Center where the Mesquite Community Theatre performs today. Currently, their season consists of five full scale productions, as well as a series of staged readings.
online:
http://www.mctweb.org/
email:
reservations@mctweb.org