To date, we have raised $11 million in Phase 1 of our Capital Campaign.
Phase 1 is a $12 million capital drive for land acquisition and new theatre construction.
We can accept your donation, no matter how big, no matter how small - every little helps.
Online donations are processed through PayPal.
For more information on donating to the Capital Campaign contact Donna Sue Shannon at (901) 725-0776.
"'What we do on stage far exceeds the facility we do it in.' We hear that from many of you who come to our plays. The time for a new theatre for Memphis is now, and we have embarked on a major capital campaign to build a first-class, state-of-the-art facility for our community.
Executive Producer
Jackie Nichols
Please help us 'Break New Ground' not only for a new facility, but for the development of the entire Midtown area, and for the thousands of children who will benefit from first-class theatre."
The current Playhouse on the Square facility will be renovated following the opening of the new facility. The Circuit Playhouse, presently located on the corner of Poplar and Belvedere, will then relocate to that space, directly across the street from the new facility. Along with TheatreWorks nearby on Monroe, this will create a vibrant new “theatre district” for Overton Square and Midtown. With three theatres within walking distance from each other, combined with numerous local restaurants and ample free parking, this new theatre district will be an entertainment destination for the entire MidSouth.
The current home of The Circuit Playhouse on Poplar Avenue will then be renovated to house expanded programming for Playhouse on the Square’s Theatre for Youth, including theatre for children, by children. Playhouse on the Square’s Theatre for Youth offices are currently located in the Jeanne and Henry Varnell Educational Building, directly adjacent to The Circuit Playhouse. The combination of their current space, with the addition of The Circuit Playhouse space, will allow for a forty percent increase in the number of children to almost 45,000 Circuit Playhouse, Inc. serves each year through its thirteen educational and outreach programs.
A Seat Dedication or a Star of Tomorrow; either item will make a wonderfully thoughtful gift that will continue to give back to the arts in our community for years to come.
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to name a seat in the new theatre! A plaque will be placed prominently on the seat commemorating your love of theatre or honoring/memorializing a loved one. It is also an excellent way to promote your business, and makes for the perfect gift!
Your name or the name of a "light in your life" will be prominently displayed on a star in the main rehearsal hall of the new facility.
A fly system is a system of ropes, counterweights, pulleys, and other such tools designed to allow a technical crew to quickly move set pieces, lights, and microphones on and off stage by “flying” them in from a large opening above the stage known as a fly tower/flyspace. Neither The Circuit Playhouse or Playhouse on the Square have fly space. The new Playhouse on the Square will have a professional fly system.
Wings are the space between the stage and the outer walls on each side from which the actors enter and exit. Neither The Circuit Playhouse or Playhouse on the Square have any wing space. The new Playhouse on the Square will have 1410sq/ft of wing space.
An orchestra pit is the lowered area in front of and/or underneath a stage where an orchestra accompanies performers in a musical, opera, or other type of show involving music. Neither Playhouse on the Square or The Circuit Playhouse has an orchestra pit. The new Playhouse on the Square will have a 400sq/ft orchestra pit.
The Booth is the “Mission Control” of the theatre during a show and is where the Production Stage Manager gives technical direction during a performance. The new Playhouse on the Square will have a fully featured booth with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment.
The theatre will have 350 seats on two levels
Whitney Jo, Jackie Nichols,
Morgan Freeman, & Michael Detroit
Morgan Freeman, one of America's leading actors, is Honorary Chairman of our $12 million "Breaking New Ground" Capital Campaign.
“The great American playwright, Thornton Wilder said, ‘I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.’ I believe that theatre is a very special and vital part of our human community.
Morgan Freeman, Honorary Chairman of our
"Breaking New Ground" Capital Campaign.
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I believe that Playhouse on the Square is a vital part of our Memphis community. Memphis has an exceptional opportunity now to raise Playhouse to a national level by helping them build a state of the art facility. I encourage the entire Mid-South community to support Playhouse on the Square’s drive to build a new theatre in which we can share with one another, in the words of Thornton Wilder, ‘the sense of what it is to be a human being.’ ”
John Morris of Morris Planners/Architects is Chicago’s premier theatre architect. He has designed more theatre spaces in Chicago than any other architect has since the 1920s. He designed Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre, and he is designing the new Playhouse on the Square. A former theatrical set-designer, John Morris knows how to work with limited budgets, and he has keen instincts for the nature of theatre as both an art and a craft.
Gary Sinise, Steppenwolf Theatre
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Founding member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Gary Sinise comments on how Playhouse on the Square’s new theatre can transform its neighborhood as Steppenwolf did.
Playhouse on the Square facing South Cooper Street
