Purpose:

To provide for the production, appreciation, and enjoyment of all phases of the theater.

To maintain the highest possible production quality.

To provide and promote training in all phases of theatrical production outside of, and in addition to, that provided by our primary and secondary school system.

History:

In the summer of 1977, a group of determined, star -struck individuals, aided and abetted by Whit Combs and Bill Leonard of the WKU Department of Theatre, set out to bring the defunct Alley Players back to life as the Warren County Community Theater. WKU provided direction, funding, and space; the community responded with actors and enthusiasm; and a Thurber Carnival was presented in June with great flourish.. A second play, Spoon River Anthology, followed in late July. So successful were these efforts that two more plays were produced in collaboration with WKU the next summer. In 1978, the name was changed to Fountain Square Players; Articles of Incorporation were filed; and the first "season", 1978-1979, came to pass.

One of the first hurdles faced by the fledgling group was "Where shall we have the play?" During the first three full seasons, plays were produced in theatres at WKU (Russell Miller, Snell Hall, Gordon Wilson, and Van Meter); in the Warren County Courthouse; In State Street United Methodist Church; in two different stores in the vacant Bowling Green Mall' and in a motel (the Holidome.) But in April of 1981, The Capitol Arts Center allowed us to present Little Mary Sunshine in the (almost) renovated Capitol Theatre building. And the 1981-1982 season saw us ensconced in the Capitol, opening with Our Town.

Next, FSP began to feel the pinch in the area of set construction. Board members' garages were quickly outgrown, and borrowed space developed a habit of being needed by others. So, after a very successful production of Annie left us a bit more affluent, a major investment was made: our scene shop and a studio at 313 State Street. Several members, in a leap of faith, signed the note and held their collective breath until the mortgage was burned in the summer of 1989.

In August of 1993, Public Theatre of Kentucky allowed us to use their Phoenix Theatre, the old Alley Playhouse, to produce Cemetery Club. FSP has since presented several other plays at the Phoenix.

FSP has been fortunate to have had great directors, dedicated Board members, a supportive community, and enthusiastic casts and crews for twenty-plus years. We send kudos to all of these and to all who may become involved in our future productions.