The group’s origin dates to 1970, when A.R. “Slim” Callis directed productions at Camp Pyoca, where he was resident manager. This was followed by community productions of Our Town and The Miracle Worker (1971 and 1972) in the Brownstown Presbyterian Church.

By 1973, Callis had convinced a group of interested people to organize into a community theatre organization. This group included Don Clodfelter, Ed Boley, Donna Brown, Molly Ferguson, Joe Persinger, Bill Prentice, Larry Spurgeon, and Callis, who served as artistic director. JCCT’s next production was the courtroom drama, The Night of January 16th, which, with permission of the county commissioners, was held in the Jackson County Courthouse.

Don Clodfelter, the first board president, went to work obtaining JCCT’s non-profit incorporation, and the board rented the old Royal Theatre from Kenneth “Bock” Ball. Much work was done in the summer of 1974 to transform the old movie theatre, which had been closed since the 1950s and used for storage, into some semblance of a place to produce a stage play. The photo shows a rainbow mural designed by local artist Maureen Pesta, which decorated the building in the 70s and 80s. The Royal Off-the-Square opened for its first performances during the Watermelon Festival of 1974. The inaugural production was called A Day in the Park.

The Royal was purchased from Ball in 1980. In the late 70s and early 80s, Callis began sharing his directing expertise with others, and some new directors began coming on board. Some of these were Mike Tormoehlen, Ralph Michael, and Joe Persinger. Later directors of note were Marianne Green and Joel McGill, and we have had more directors come on board in recent years. These people and many others have carried on the work of JCCT through the past forty years, but there is no doubt that Jackson County Community Theatre is here because of Slim Callis.

In 1988, at the behest of Mike Tormoehlen, and with generous community contributions of both labor and money, a green room was added to the theatre, along with a pole barn, providing much needed storage and backstage space.

In 2011, Jackson County Community Theatre embarked on another project to add comforts for the Royal’s patrons. Once again, the community stepped up to help out. Mike Tormoehlen again led the construction team, assisted by many volunteers who provided countless hours of labor. Many individuals and businesses provided donations of money and materials. By the fall of 2012, everyone was enjoying the new lobby and greenroom, and especially the four new restrooms—a major improvement over the single patron restroom used for many years.

The Jackson County Young Artists’ Theatre (JCYAT) was established in the summer of 2015. The first production, 101 Dalmatians Kids, took place in June 2015. Since then, the theatre has offered a free summer workshop for kids along with at least two JCYAT productions per year. Our young artists also joined in for mainstage shows like A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Christmas Story.

Today, we look forward to our 50th Season in 2019-2020. With the help of our countless patrons and volunteers, we are eager to make Jackson County laugh and cry for many years to come!