Our Theatre Heritage

The Saint Lucie Community Theatre, founded in 1973,  passed its 30th anniversary several years ago, but its roots go far beyond that, having been first conceived by our own Wilma Cowles and established in St. Lucie County in 1949 under the auspices of the Woman's Club of Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County's oldest civic and cultural organization. Under that sponsorship, the organization, called The Dolphin Players, flourished for several years, performing at the Woman's Club, at Fort Pierce Elementary School, and various other locations. Eventually, expenses overtook revenue and the theatre suspended operations for a time, but after a short hiatus the hard core of would-be thespians regrouped as The Fort Pierce Little Theatre and was in business again. Rehearsing in garages, upstairs over Warren's Laundry, in the Historic Arcade Building where it survived a devastating fire, performing in Fort Pierce Central High School, where vandalisim was a problem at the time, and in Indian River Community College's Student Center on a home-made 7,000-pound portable stage, where the set had to be dismantled after each night's performance and reassembled before each show. However, the troupe never lost its spirit.

In the meantime, there was an influx of new talent melding with the old--The Ferrara Family came to town, there were Mike and Helen Armstrong, Bill and Jane Braun, John and Diane Procino, the Tabors, Joanne Carlton Humphries, Pete and Claudia McDonald, Audrey Zeitz, John and Gail Luchka, and the Port Saint Lucie Players--most of them are still with us.
 
And in 1973 we re-incorporated as Saint Lucie Community Theatre. Board Members were Fred Ferrara, John Procino, Wilma Cowles, Horty Selkin, Kathy Hammond, Rosalyn Savel, Floyd Bell, Benny Thyrant, Berniece 
Ribakoff and Dr. Vincent Molina.

                                                      We were off and running. We christened McAlpin Fine Arts  
    Center at IRCC with our production of "Bell, Book and Candle," and had
    high hopes of making that our base of operations, but that hope was short
    lived as the College's own schedule forced us out--a blessing in disguise for 
    it forced us into seeking a permanent home of our own. Pineapple Playhouse
    at 700 W. Weatherbee Road is that place we are proud to call home, the
    place where we present our annual schedule of five main stage productions,
    our very successful Childrens Summer Camp productions, our Reader's
    Theatre programs and other special events and fundraisers; the place
    where we spend hours in work parties and enjoying gala picnics and fun get-
    togethers.