Coterie Theatre

The Coterie Theatre is a non-profit organisation, established in 1979, to provide professional classic and contemporary theatre which challenges audience and artist and to provide educational, dramatic outreach programs in the community.

They seek to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations by redefining children’s theatre to include families and diverse audiences.

Judith Yeckel and Vicky Lee, two graduate students in theatre from the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC), founded the Coterie back in 1979. The theatre is housed on level one in Hallmark's Crown Center shops. Over the past 30 years, the Coterie has given nearly 6,861 performances of 215 productions through 2008, playing to approximately 1,500,000 people.

Artistic Director Yeckel established a mission for the Coterie which is to open lines of communication between races, sexes and generations. Following Yeckel and Lee's tenure, Kansas City actor/director Jim Tibbs became Artistic Director through 1988. Jim further continued the mission of the Coterie by providing classic and contemporary theatre, which challenged both the audience and the artists. After Jim's death, Pam Sterling then served as Artistic Director for the next two years. Joette Pelster joined Jeff in leading the Coterie in 1993. As Executive Director,

Through programming, the Coterie plays a vital role in the greater Kansas City area developing new generations of audiences for the performing arts with plays that reach a variety of age groups.

In 1995, the prestigious Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Award was given to the theatre for its world premiere of Alicia in Wonder Tierra, a great success for the theatre involving actors in the Latino community in that production and many others.

In 1999, the Coterie world premiere commission of The Wrestling Season went on to be produced around the country after it transferred to Kennedy Center for New Visions 2000: One Theatre World. The play was featured as the published play in American Theatre Magazine in November 2000.

Several of the Coterie's premieres were developed at the Kennedy Center's New Vision/New Voices new play festival and NYU's Educational Theatre Program at Provincetown Playhouse.

In 2004, Producing Artistic Director Jeff began the Coterie's Lab for New Family Musicals by working with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty to create a Theatre for Young Audiences version of Seussical adapted from Broadway. It has since become one of the most produced plays in educational theatre in the United States.

Also, the main-stage season includes the Young Playwrights' Festival, which features the works of teen playwrights fostered through the Young Playwrights' Roundtable.

THE TEAM

Jeff Church, Artistic Director

Joette Pelster, Executive Director

Jolie Spatz, Business & Box Office Manager

Patrick Yount, Development Director

Melissa Roberts, Marketing Director

Amanda Kibler, Education Director

Annette Filippi, Project Coordinator, Class Registrar

Amy M. Ables Owen, Stage Manager

Kevin Albert, Assistant Box Office Manager

Scott Hobart, Technical Director

2450 Grand Blvd.,