The Sauk: The Sauk: a TRUE Community Theater!

The Sauk: a TRUE Community Theater!

by Melissa McCance

Live theater is a special experience and our area is fortunate to have The Sauk. Located in Jonesville, this community theater has received popular and critical recognition for the quality of its productions.

The building on U.S. 12 in Jonesville was originally the site of a two-story, 900-seat opera house. Touring shows traveling between Detroit and Chicago could perform in Jonesville for some extra revenue. It was also used for community events, concerts, and school shows.

In 1932, the building burned to the ground. But community support was strong, and a smaller structure was built which opened in the mid-1930s as a performing arts venue. It then became a popular movie theater—the first in Michigan with air conditioning. The building found new identities in the 1950s and 1960s, first as a dance hall, then the location for the village offices and police station, and even as an archery range with the targets on the stage.

In 1971 the village (now city) put the building up for sale, and the theater company entered the picture. Organized in 1961 as the Broad Street Players, shows were originally held in the Woman’s Congress Building at the fairgrounds. This continued for eight years after which there was a two-year period of reorganization with no shows. Two bids were offered for the property, the Broad Street Players’ bid was accepted, the group incorporated as the Hillsdale Community Theater, and the sale closed in 1972. The building name was changed to The Sauk Theatre in 1975.

As you can imagine, it took a lot of work to transform the building back into a theater. The restrooms weren’t functional, there was no dressing room space, no seating, and other issues. All the group’s funds were spent purchasing the building. Executive Director Trinity Bird explained how it was accomplished:

The overall thing that I hope you get out of this story is that any time this organization has wanted or needed something, the community has made it happen. I think sometimes community theaters get a bad reputation as being ‘less.’ But to us, we’re proud of being the community theater. We are ‘the community.’ Every time something has happened, whether it’s the ceiling falling or Covid or whatever, we’ve made it through because of community support.

In 1979, an electrical fire above the stage took out almost half of the back of the building and caused significant roof damage. This necessitated being out of the building for two years during which time they returned to the Woman’s Congress Building. Some needed changes were made during the rebuild which included adding a lighting booth, relocating the restrooms, and digging the orchestra pit.

Bird joined the group in the late ‘90s and was hired on parttime in 2015. His initial focus involved looking at what the group did, what it could do, and how best to organize so that everything—funds, other material resources, and personnel (all volunteers)—fit together in the most useful and efficient way.

There was another serious building issue at the end of December 2015. Undetected water damage from dealing with the 1979 fire proved too much for the 80-year-old plaster ceiling, and it fell. Everything inside was covered with plaster dust and debris. Insurance covered just 15% of the damage, but community support came through again. The group took out a ten-year loan that they were able to pay off in a year, and the work was completed in six months following that. As before, some problems were dealt with during the repairs, such as adding more house lights, moving the overhead light bar farther back from the stage, and updating sections of the HVAC system.

The Sauk also rallied through the Covid era as Bird was determined not to suspend all production. They continued to provide programming by utilizing online content, outdoor performances, and limiting audience size once indoor shows were allowed. For two years, everything they did followed the Michigan Health Department guidelines.

Except for Bird, The Sauk is an all-volunteer organization, and everyone is greatly appreciated—there’s a family feel to the group. The Sauk does two seasons. The Main Stage season is the big shows which run two weekends with full sets and costumes and are traditionally three plays (one is a Christmas show) and two musicals. Then there’s the Sauk Second Season: three, one-weekend shows that have more challenging content and lighter technical needs which provide some opportunities to stretch. Every summer features a show for families.

A 24-hour theater fundraiser is held every spring for which the group creates, rehearses, and performs six, 10-minute plays in 24 hours. Each year they also do Plays-in-Development; this year marks the 10th anniversary of this event. Unproduced scripts are submitted for a workshop and the selected plays are presented as staged readings. This year, The Sauk received 442 submissions, and the program has received national recognition.

The next big production is “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” scheduled for July 25-28 and August 1-4. The Sauk is the first community theater in Michigan to have the rights to produce the latest Broadway version of this musical. It features four songs from the Gene Wilder movie plus a new score. As a promotion, The Sauk will be hiding five golden tickets around the county—finders will get two tickets to the show! Other than the first night preview performance, all tickets for shows are reserved seating and can be purchased online, by phone, or in person.

If you think you’d like to get involved in community theater, visit their website at thesauk.org. The audition schedule is posted there, and there’s a contact form if you have questions or want to volunteer in another capacity. You can also call (517-849-9100), email (thesauk.hct@gmail.com) or stop by (240 E. Chicago Rd, Jonesville). Bird says they especially need backstage crew members.