About
Veale Creek Theatre has a long history. The theatre was originally built around 1880 as a one-room schoolhouse and was known as The Lett School. Students in grades 1-8 attended school there until the early 1960's. Former Washington, IN resident Clifford Bingham once taught at The Lett School.
After the schoolhouse was no longer in use, nextdoor neighbor and local contractor, Jerry Young, purchased the building. Mr. Young built on the addition that now houses the backstage area and used the area as storage for his business.
The Washington Civic Players theatre group was formed in 1972 and used the Washington High School auditorium as it's performance space. Jerry Young's wife, Sally, was involved with the Civic Players and in 1979 the Youngs offered the use of their building to the group. The Washington Civic Players became The Veale Creek Players and moved into the current theatre in October, 1979 with a production of Count Dracula.
Over the next 14 years, various improvements were to convert the former schoolhouse into a theatre performance space. Restrooms, dressing rooms, the costume loft and other storage areas were added along with replacing the building's major systems.
In 1995, the Youngs, who had earlier moved into Washington, decided to sell their property, including the theatre and grounds. The Veale Creek Players then incorporated as a not-for-profit organizations and purchased the property with a loan from United Southwest Bank. Since then, other improvements continued to be made including the sidewalks and storage building. Many of these improvements were funded by the Daviess County Community Foundation and other local partners.
Veale Creek Players produce 5-6 fully staged productions at Veale Creek Theatre every season. As an all-volunteer organization, the theatre depends on enthusiastic support from the community as both patrons and actors.
Contact
Veale Creek Theatre
4470 Hwy 57
Washington, IN 47501
Mailing Address
Veale Creek Theatre
PO Box 561
Washington, IN 47501