Theatre Under the Big Top
Theatre Under the Big Top
Corn Stock Theatre, founded in 1954, has brought excitement and imagination to Peoria audiences for over fifty years. This theatre, given its name by Helen Louise Young at the first Corn Stock meeting, was the first outdoor theatre-in-the-round that Central Illinois had ever experienced. Because of the ideas and hopes of many people, Corn Stock blossomed into the experimental environment that keeps people coming back for more.
It all began in the spring of 1954 at a party where Gretchen Iben and Dick Chandler brought up the idea of searching for a place to put on a summer play. This idea grew as a group of people met on March 7, 1954 in the old CILCO Hall to discuss plans for the new theatre. At this meeting, a board was organized with Corn Stock’s co-founder, Gretchen Iben, elected as chairman and its founder, Dick Chandler, as assistant chairman. Corn Stock Theatre inPeoria began its first season with only 35 dollars in the budget.
Popularity: 7% [?]
