Company History

In the summer of 1965 Jackie Nichols was a rising senior at Overton High School. He teamed up with fellow students to form a troupe of actors to perform shows in churches and civic centers. They called themselves The Circuit Players and for the next four years they performed a variety of musicals and straight plays wherever they could.

Circuit Playhouse, Inc. was born on November 20, 1969 near the University of Memphis when the company rented a former home that had been converted to a ballet academy. In 1971 the space was sold and the company relocated to 1947 Poplar across from Overton Park. When the Circuit Playhouse, Inc. moved to this larger building, it rented an adjacent building to be used for a costume shop and a new performance space known as Workshop Theatre. It was a venue for new, original, and one-act plays. Two years later, another adjacent building was used to create Theatre II; a space for producing little known plays. This helped to spearhead a widespread revitalization of Midtown Memphis. For the next several years, the three theatres operated on an annual budget of approximately $30,000 with no paid staff.

Recognition of the organization's well-established position in the community came at this time with the first funding grant from the Memphis Arts Council.

In 1975, Circuit Playhouse, Inc. acquired a building in Overton Square in Midtown Memphis. With $30,000 provided by Overton Square Investors for renovation, and with increased funding from the Memphis Arts Council, Playhouse on the Square was born. It was an offspring of Circuit Playhouse, Inc. which continued to produce the kind of adventurous theatre its audience had come to expect. Playhouse on the Square opened on November 12, 1975 with a production of “Godspell.” It also had a resident company of professional actors and a paid staff. The first season was graced with the performances of many fine actors including Larry Riley and Michael Jeter, who would later achieve notable careers in New York and Hollywood.

In 1979 The Circuit Playhouse bought and moved to the former Guild Movie theatre at 1705 Poplar. It was a 10,000 square foot building and included space for a larger costume shop, its first dedicated scene shop, rehearsal space, improved dressing facilities, and storage for costumes and props. The two theatres continued to pursue their own directions. The Circuit Playhouse initiated the MidSouth Playwright's Contest, offered a Foreign Film Series, and staged Off-Broadway and experimental works. Playhouse on the Square began to offer weekday matinees for school groups in addition to its regular season.

In 1981, Playhouse on the Square initiated the Intern Program. The program was begun to enable emerging theatre artists to explore every avenue of the profession and apply their education in the real world. Today it includes twelve college graduates hired to assist in all phases of production.

By 1985, Playhouse on the Square was again feeling growing pains. The student matinee series had outgrown the theatre's capacity, and seating for many productions was limited. The Memphian Movie Theatre just down the street (a favorite after-hours screening facility for Elvis) was available. Circuit Playhouse, Inc purchased the building and solicited three-year pledges from individuals and corporations and was able to complete a $150,000 renovation of the building.

1986 saw the inception of the Playhouse on the Square’s Theatre for Youth program, which expanded into a full-scale Summer Youth Conservatory, TnT (Teens in Theatre), a touring program, and a full season of school matinees. In 1990, Playhouse on the Square instituted the city's first independent Theatre School with theatre classes for children, teens, and adults. From the five classes offered during the first season, the school has expanded to a total of twenty courses.

Having been concerned for some time that arts events were beyond the financial means of the city's poorest citizens, Jackie Nichols suggested to the Arts Council that they arrange some way of making art, theatre, music, and dance available to the disadvantaged. In January 1990, Arts Access came into being making free tickets to arts events available to those on food stamps. In addition, Jackie Nichols instituted the Pay What You Can program in 1991. Every show produced at both The Circuit Playhouse and Playhouse on the Square has a Pay What You Can night, ensuring that those who cannot afford the full price of a ticket will not be denied the pleasures of an evening at the theatre.

In 1992, Playhouse on the Square acquired an adjoining building adding 6,000 square feet in which to build a new scene shop, a large multi-purpose room with bar, a meeting room, and wheelchair-accessible restrooms.

To finance this expansion and ensure the financial stability of the theatres into the 21st century, Jackie spearheaded the Silver Challenge, a $350,000 fund-raising effort. Again, the Memphis community responded by producing the needed revenue in a matter of months.

In 1994, construction began on TheatreWorks, a building near Playhouse on the Square which was built to house a variety of small performance groups unable to afford quarters of their own. The following year saw the inception of a program that has had national impact in the theatre world—the Unified Professional Theatre Auditions. In February 1995, Playhouse on the Square hosted twenty-six theatres and two hundred actors from around the country. Since then, the growth has been phenomenal.  Ninety-eight theatres and over one thousand actors and production personnel attended in 2006.

With a view to ensuring a new generation of theatre patrons, Jackie Nichols launched the After School Acting Program (ASAP) in 1997. Several months were spent developing this program for 7-12 year-olds. Churches, schools, and community centers all over the metropolitan area host sites for troupes of children for the twice-weekly activity, which, under the guidance of a director, creates an original theatrical piece to be performed at a festival at the end of each semester.

In December 1997, longtime supporters of the theatre purchased and donated to Circuit Playhouse, Inc. a building adjacent to The Circuit Playhouse. This building, now known as the Jeanne and Henry Varnell Theatre Arts Education Building, was refurbished to house all of our Theatre For Youth programs. In order to refurbish the building, Circuit Playhouse, Inc. created the 21st Century Challenge: Building for Generations, a capital funds drive that raised $600,000.

The growth in artistic capability and maturity of the theatres has resulted in an expanded awareness and appreciation in the local community and beyond. This is reflected in the numerous Memphis theatre awards presented to Circuit Playhouse, Inc. in recent years. In December 1990, Circuit Playhouse, Inc. was honored by the Tennessee Arts Commission with the Governor's Award in the Arts. In October 1993, Jackie Nichols was awarded the Gordon Holl Award for Outstanding Arts Administration at the Governor's Conference on the Arts, and in June 1999, Jackie Nichols received the Rotary Club Community Service Award. Circuit Playhouse, Inc. celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1999.

In 2004 the Board of Trustees recognized that the Playhouse on the Square’s current renovated 1920s movie theatre was inadequate for the full array of artistic capabilities and talent available and expected by audiences. They have undertaken a fifteen million-dollar capital campaign to construct a new theatre complete with all the modern stage machinery necessary to present the very best in theatre. The new facility will have rehearsal space, administrative offices, costume and scenic facilities. As of early 2006 the campaign has raised $7.5 million.

In 2005 Jackie Nichols received an unrestricted $25,000 Stanford Group Financial Award in recognition of his fiscal stewardship of the organization. The award is giving in partnership with the Greater Memphis Arts Council.

Since 1969, more than 5,500 people have acted, taught, staffed, ushered, “teched,” and struggled to bring forth the 723 shows produced at our theatres.

With the continued generous support of our audience members, our sponsors, and our board; and with the dedication of our actors, technicians and staff, we will make our next thirty-seven years even more exciting.