Carmel Community Players (CCP) is an award-winning community theatre group, in spite of not having a permanent home to stage their productions. Since early 2018 CCP has had to share space with several other groups, bouncing between the Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy in Fishers and the Cat in Carmel.
The Reporter spoke to CCP Business Manager Rich Phipps about the ongoing quest to find a permanent home once again.
CCP is a member of the Encore Association, a collection of 11 nonprofessional theatre groups in the Indianapolis area in which no one is paid, all operating on a non-profit basis.
“At the annual awards ceremony, the Encore Association presents awards based on theatrical excellence, the equivalent of the ‘Tony Awards for community theatre.’” Phipps said. “CCP has consistently received considerably more our fair share of Encore Awards. Last year, CCP received 60 nominations, more than any other theatre.”
Phipps
That is an accomplishment any group could be proud of – more so when you consider the challenges faced by not having a space to call its own.
“When we had our lease for almost nine years at Clay Terrace, we had the lease at a discounted rate,” Phipps said. “There are some tax benefits available for landlords who lease to a non-profit so we took advantage of that for many years and had a great deal at Clay Terrace.”
Now CCP is looking for a landlord who has an appreciation for local performing arts and would be willing to take advantage of those same tax incentives available in renting to CCP.
The lease at Clay Terrace expired in February 2018.
“I will never forget it,” Phipps told The Reporter. “It was Valentine’s Day of 2018 when we got our 30-day notice. That was very difficult, as you can imagine. We were mid-way through a season. We were able to work it out and we found alternative venues for the rest of our season. We had two more shows that season and we had to quickly plan our current 2018-19 season.”
For now, all of CCP’s shows are planned to stage at the Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel.
“We would say the Cat is our temporary home,” Phipps said. “This season we will have staged four of our five productions there. The other one was last Christmas in Fishers at the Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy. That was because the Cat was not available.”
Phipps had only good things to say about the Cat and the people in charge of the venue, and he stressed that their seeking a more permanent location is about CCP maintaining its identity and making it easier on the performers and tech crews.
“We have been around since 1993,” Phipps said. “We are finishing up our 25th anniversary season. There is a recognition in the community. But we risk losing some of our brand identity when we are one of several groups that occupy a space.”
CCP is looking for a more permanent home, like they used to have, as seen above, where they can build larger sets and seat a larger audience. (Photo provided)
One of the challenges CCP faces is building a set in its warehouse, rehearsing there, then moving everything to the Cat and having a limited time to readjust to the setting.
“The advantage of having your own space is also that we could rehearse more there more than we do now,” Phipps said. “Today all the shows at the Cat are on a short move-in basis. We only typically have a week to rehearse in the facility.”
Clay Terrace was a little over 4,000 square feet, which gave CCP room not only for the theater and the seating area and the stage itself, but also for dressing rooms, a green room, some storage, and tech and lighting booths.
“4,000 square feet is the number we are thinking about,” Phipps said. “We would like to have high ceilings. We would like to have enough height to be able to stage a multi-level set. For our 2019-20 season, which we recently announced, we are planning all five shows to be at the Cat.”
CCP is looking for a landlord willing to lease them a space so this award-winning theatre groups can have a space of their own once more.
Call (317) 815-9387 to leave a message or email info@CarmelPlayers.org if you would like to help CCP find a more permanent home.