EDWARDSVILLE - Goshen Theatre Project is the “dream” of a few retired teachers and parents whose children outgrew and surpassed their own school musicals. Because of significant early success, the Goshen Theatre Project decided to purchase a building at 114 West Main Street in Collinsville.
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"These teachers and parents having loved working together so much for their own students/children….decided "why not share what they’d learned ‘together' with other children and adult community members," Liz Enloe of the Goshen Theatre Project said.
In May of 2015, GTP launched their first season with it’s first “Singsational”….Broadway Musical entertainment featuring appetizers and desserts on the side. Proceeds from this event provided necessary funds for their inaugural production “Shrek, the Musical.” The Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville hosted three sold-out performances in October of 2015.
Enloe said the new facility has been a tremendous improvement for the group.
"We took possession of the building at 114 West Main Street in Collinsville on April 29 and have been renovating and had a camp there in early August," Enloe said. "We were able to use the building for that and have been using it since July 1. We are so grateful for the building. We no longer have to hunt down, rent or beg for rehearsal and storage space. We pay hundreds of dollars and set changes and it is just wonderful to have the space."
Since then, Goshen Theatre Project has gone on to host two more “Singsational” spring fundraisers, which have evolved into Musical Theater Trivia Nights. Further Goshen productions are "Peter Pan" - August 2016 (Hettenhausen Center for the Arts at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois), "Charlie Brown Christmas" - December 2016 (St. Johns Methodist Church-Edwardsville), "Christmas Story the Musical" - August 2017(Hettenhausen Center for the Arts at McKendree University in Lebanon), Harry Potter Mystery Dinner Theater - December 2017 (First Christian Church-Edwardsville), "Lion King Jr." -June 2018 (Nazarene Community Theater-Roxana), "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" - August 2018 (Hettenhausen Center for the Arts at McKendree University), Fantastic Feast Mystery Dinner Theater-December 2018 (First Christian Church in Edwardsville), "Little Mermaid Jr." - June 2019 (Nazarene Community Theater in Roxana), Les Mis School Edition-August 2019 (Hettenhausen Center for the Arts at McKendree University at Lebanon).
The new Collinsville building features rehearsal rooms, a green room, and multiple storage rooms, all needed for Goshen Theatre Project's success.
Goshen Theatre Project presents "Nunsense" Oct. 9-17 at the Nazarene Community Theater in Roxana. Enloe said she is excited to get the season off and rolling after months of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
