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16 GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS | 2021– 2022 closure. In 2014, three years after the college reopened, the theater program moved into the Foundry Theater, where it continues to hold student productions. Center Stage and YS Theater Company While the ’70s and ’80s may have seen the end of professional theater in the village, those decades saw the emergence of a robust era of community theater with the birth of Yellow Springs Center Stage in 1971. The Antioch Area Theater had braved all the plays of Shakespeare, but Center Stage took a different tack, bring - ing popular theater to village audiences by mounting all the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, directed by Jean Hooper. As Rebecca Eschli- man, a longtime Center Stage member, wrote in the YS His- torical Society blog: “The run of Gilbert and Sullivan started in 1972, the second summer of Center Stage’s existence in John Bryan Community Center with a production of ‘The Mikado’ and finished in the summer of 1987 with a produc- tion of ‘The Grand Duke.’ … In between those two produc- tions every summer was a much-anticipated production of every other Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, with particular favor - ites ‘The Mikado’ and ‘Pirates of Penzance’ given revivals.” Center Stage moved into a space on Dayton Street in 1975 — the space now occupied by Rose & Sal Co. Mercantile — building a black box theater space that would host not only its own productions, but also those of other groups. The company produced at least a half-dozen shows each year until the ’90s. By 1995, both the company and the community at large had begun to slow its use of the Dayton Street space. As reported by the News in 2003: “Center Stage has struggled for a little over five years to attract directors and local support to continue producing quality shows. [Jean Hooper] and other board members said that times have changed and local residents don’t participate in small community theater the way they once did.” On Aug. 3, 2003, the Center Stage board voted to relinquish occupancy of the building and to sell off all its assets. As Hooper told the News: “It’s been a lot of fun, and it is with regret that we’re closing … but I think it’s O.K. It’s been a reasonable run, and not a whole lot of theaters make it that long.” In 2011, villager Kay Reimers revived Center Stage, and the local volunteer company brought community theater to life again with shows like “Threepenny Opera” and “The Crucible.” The new Center Stage ended its run in 2014, and the YS Theater Company took up the community theater mantle that same year, continuing to mount several productions each year, including the 10-Minute Play Festival, which was origi - nally founded by Reimers and the late Virgil Hervey during the revival of Center Stage. In a nod to both Center Stage and Antioch Area Theatre before it, the YS Theater Com- pany honored The Bard and community theater by bringing Shakespeare back to the village in 2016 with its first Summer Shakespeare Shindig produc- tion, “Much Ado About Noth - ing.” That production was staged on the lawn outside Antioch Hall by the company’s creative director, Lorrie Sparrow-Knapp. Subsequent Summer Shake- speare Shindig productions — “Julius Caesar” in 2017, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2018 and “Othello” in 2019 — were held on the grounds of Mills Lawn. Though the company halted productions in 2020 due to the pandemic, the 10-Minute Play Festival — this time staged outside — returned in the summer of 2021. YS Kids Playhouse As the original Center Stage was taking its final bow, the cur - tain was rising on a new — and young — theater program: the Yellow Springs Kids Playhouse, or YSKP. The program was founded in 1995 by John Flem- ing, and immediately set itself apart from other youth theater programs by featuring annual musical productions and plays YS Kids Playhouse produces innovative youth theater for adults and children alike. Above, The Conference of Birds, 2010, was an adaptation of a 12th-century fable into an original musical that featured puppets, Persian poetry and elaborate choreography. | PHOTO BY MEGAN BACHMAN Continued from page 15 • Residential Buyer and Seller Services • Experience prompt service, 25+ years • Instant, consistent client communication: voice, text, email • Client ‘certified’ professional resources • Maximum internet presence • International relocation services, including civilian and military 257 Xenia Ave. www.chris K homes.com 937-767-9900 LocaL. ExpEriEncEd. rEaLtors. rEaL EstatE, it’s aLL wE do. ® “Top notch realtor! Rick provided quick response to questions. He was patient with us as we searched for a home that met our very specific needs.” — Kristy T. “Excellent and professional. Not pushy at all and listens to all concerns.” — Kevin M. Chris Kristensen • Rick Kristensen Sat i Sfying every cl i ent, individually. sold SE L L I NG ONE GORGEOUS HOME AF T ER ANOTHER