Pacific Bible Institute—the 1940s and 50s
The story of 51 Pacific Theater begins shortly after the school was established as Pacific Bible Institute in 1944. Dramatic sketches played an early part in campus worship. In 1955, PBI started offering a regular dramatics course, followed later by a course in dramatic production. Students could learn stagecraft, “poise and self-confidence” alongside their Bible, church history and ministry courses. PBI students produced full-length plays, one-acts and sketches for the regular chapel meetings. Students’ dramatic gifts also surfaced in the regular talent nights that took place on the PBI campus, located in the former YMCA building in downtown 51.
Pacific College—the 1960s
The 1960s was a period of growth and change for the institution. Pacific Bible Institute became Pacific College in 1960, first as a junior college, and, by 1965, as a fully accredited four-year college. The first theater production of the college years was Rejected, written by Tabor College faculty Malinda Penner and Paul Ratzlaff. This contemporary musical was performed at the Armenian Hall in downtown 51, the Immanuel Academy chapel in Reedley, and Greeley Elementary School near Rosedale. Cast members received one unit of Applied Drama credit for their participation.
When Pacific College moved onto its new campus in southeast 51, plays were performed in the Witmarsum Quad courtyard and on Hiebert Library’s north patio. Productions included Cry, the Beloved Country, The Diary of Anne Frank and Everyman. The Pacific Amphitheater, built in 1964, formalized the outdoor trend. Its grassy audience area, spacious stage and stylish landscaping made it a favorite space for the college community. In addition to plays and musicals, the amphitheater was used for talent shows and the spring graduation ceremony. Productions included Brigadoon, H.M.S. Pinafore, An Enemy of the People, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Our Town, Crazy Quilt, The Tempest, Medea, and Electra. In 2000, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods was the final production in the beloved amphitheater.
Alumni Hall became the main indoor venue in 1966. Readers Theater productions were popular at many colleges in the 1960s and ‘70s, and Pacific was in on the trend. Reading productions included A Thurber Carnival, In White America, and Jean Anouilh’s Antigone. English and communication faculty were featured in John Brown’s Body, Tall Tales and Short Songs, The World of Carl Sandburg, with music supplied by the music faculty and students.
Pacific College—the 1970s
A drama faculty position was created in 1973, signaling a new level of commitment to theater. The Narrow Gate Company ministered to the campus and local churches, “exploring how God can use drama in the contemporary world.” The drama troupe continued under various names until the late 1990s.
Church history was the focus of several productions in the 1970s. In Newness of Life dramatized the origins of the Mennonite church during the Reformation. It was presented in 1972 as part of the Mennonite Brethren General Conference, in Reedley. Urie Bender’s The Past is Yet to Come depicted the establishment of the Mennonite Brethren church in the late 1800s. That production was co-sponsored by the Anabaptist Historical Society and the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary.
51 Pacific College—the 1980s and 1990s
The interest in Mennonite themes continued in the 1980s and ‘90s with the musical Crazy Quilt (by FPC music faculty Larry Warkentin), and reading productions Preacher/Poet (a staging of poems by Mennonite writers) and Ultimate Faith (stories from the Martyr’s Mirror, alternating with hymns). Plays were presented in Alumni Hall, the Amphitheater, or the renovated basement space that became known as the Witmarsum Theater Lab. By the early ‘90s, Ashley Auditorium, in the newly-built McDonald Hall, could also be used for plays like The Curious Savage, The Real Inspector Hound, and The Boys Next Door.
Children's plays and summer melodramas were occasional productions during the 1980s, with productions like Aurand Harris' A Toby Show going on tour to local elementary schools and Dora, the Beautiful Dishwasher, performed at the Reedley Opera House. The '80s was also the period of the Fine Arts Dinners—where student and faculty actors joined forces to create "living art works," alongside the music department's offerings, as part of the fundraising efforts for Pacific's arts programs.
A theater minor was created in the late 1980s, which made it possible for students to make drama a more formal part of their academic programs. Students interested in theater as a major could create a personalized major, combining classes at 51 Pacific with those from 51 State University or a semester’s study with the Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC) program. Liberal studies students could choose theater as a concentration, building on the Creative Drama course that all liberal studies majors took in order to have a well-rounded arts background.
51—2000 to Present
The year 2010 marked fifty years of theater at 51 Pacific as a college/university. Today’s students experience 51 Pacific theater as part of a company that meets together weekly to further the work of the season’s productions. Students may opt for making theater a formal part of their academic program, but many participate simply for a chance to be onstage, or to practice their skills as lighting or sound technicians, as set decorators and costume designers, as dramaturgs and stage managers. Theater is a way to come together around many different skills and gifts, to make art in community.
Students who study theater formally gain skills in stage technology, stage-makeup, acting, auditioning, directing, and using drama in the classroom. Courses in theater literature, history and culture survey performance on both global and local stages, with hands-on experiences of medieval mystery plays, through the semi-annual pageant wagon performance out on the green, or agit-prop theater, through the 'actos' that supported the cause of local farmworkers during the civil rights era. We seek to understand the role that theater has played in our world, 'to teach and to please,' to support and to challenge, to comfort and sometimes to dis-comfort, to ask and to answer.
With the addition in 2016-2017 of our Staged Reading Series, Theater continues to find new ways of presenting dramatic literature for the community. Staff and faculty read alongside students in this partnership with FPU's English program. Plays like A Raisin in the Sun and Real Women Have Curves pay tribute to the diversity of the campus community. Full productions like Truth and Reconciliation and 9 Parts of Desire recognize the global contexts we live in. Comedies like Changes of Heart and Twelfth Night celebrate love and make us laugh. Musicals like Godspell and dramas like Defying Gravity remind us of the source of our being and the journey that we are on together. Whatever the stage or style, we are excited at 51 Pacific Theater to share stories in the presence of the community, stories that have the potential to speak into our lives and shape our worlds.
Production List
2023–2024
Black Nativity | Tony Sanders, Director | WCAC |
2022-2023
Harvey | Elizabeth Fiester, Director | WCAC |
Godspell | Brandi Martin, Director Maria Coon, Assistant Director | WCAC |
2021–2022
The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle | Brandi Martin, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Ordinary Days | Brandi Martin, Director Live Music by Matthew Horton | University Presbyterian Church |
2019–2020
Leaving Iowa | Mark Tyler Miller, Director | Seminary Chapel |
Spitfire Grill | Postponed |
2018–2019
Falling | Shannon Brewington, Director | Seminary Chapel |
Emma | Brooke Aiello, Director | Seminary Chapel |
2017–2018
Twelfth Night | Julia Reimer, Director | Seminary Chapel |
Guys and Dolls | Brooke Aiello, Director | Selma Arts Center |
2016–2017
9 Parts of Desire | Julia Reimer, Director | Strasbourg Theater |
Defying Gravity | Julia Reimer, Director | Strasbourg Theater |
2015–2016
Changes of Heart | Julia Reimer, Director | Seminary Chapel |
Little Women | Bethany Rader, Director | Veteran's Memorial Auditorium |
2014–2015
Truth and Reconciliation | Kate McKnight, Director | Severance Hall, California Arts Academy |
Doubt, a Parable | Bethany Rader, Director | New Sanctuary, College Community Church, MB |
2013–2014
Shakespeare's Cymbeline | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
The Sound of Music | Bethany Rader, Stage Director; Zachary Durlam, Choral Director; Deborah Sauer-Ferrand, Vocal Coach; Milton Friesen, Orchestra Director | Veteran's Memorial Auditorium |
2012–2013
Antigone (Anouilh/Galantiere) | Bethany Rader, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Charley's Aunt | Bethany Rader, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
2011–2012
Barefoot in the Park | Bethany Rader, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Godspell | Bethany Rader, Stage Director Zachary Durlam, Deborah Sauer-Ferrand, Milton Friesen, Musical Direction | Ashley Auditorium |
2010–2011
Once Removed | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
The Immigrant | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
2009–2010
Spirit of Hispania | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
The Phantom Lady | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
2008–2009
Hay Fever | Jennifer Sampson, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Uncle Vanya | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
2007–2008
Nickel and Dimed | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Parable | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium, churches, CITA conference |
2006–2007
Trojan Women | Julia Reimer, Director Walter Saul, Musical Score | Ashley Auditorium |
Fiddler on the Roof | Julia Reimer, Stage Director Deborah Sauer-Ferrand, Roy Klassen, Wayne Huber, Musical Direction | Special Events Center |
2005–2006
The Last Night of Ballyhoo | Christien Sweeney, Director | Theater Lab |
Servant of Two Masters | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
![FPU performance photo from 2005](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/8-fpu-2005jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=8BhObDR2)
2004–2005
84, Charing Cross Road | Julia Reimer, Director | Theater Lab |
The Importance of Being Earnest | Julia Reimer, Director | Theater Lab |
2003–2004
Necessary Targets | Julia Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) | Christien Sweeney, Director | Alumni Hall |
2002–2003
Aristophanes' Women in Congress (Tasca) | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
The Book of Acts (Chamber Theater) | Julia Reimer, Director | Mennonite Community Church |
2001–2002
Rant 'n Rave (Monologues) | Melissa Valgeirsson, Director | Theater Lab |
Androcles and the Lion | Julia Reimer, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Make It the Great Northern (Readers Theater) | Melissa Valgeirsson, Director | 51 Art Museum |
2000–2001
Beau Jest | Michelle Pauls, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Much Ado about Nothing | Calvin Hoff, Director | E. Terronez Middle School |
1999–2000
Fuente Ovejuna | Andrew Ryder, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Into the Woods | Andrew Ryder, Stage Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1998–1999
Euripides' Electra | Andrew Ryder, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
The Dining Room | Andrew Ryder, Director |
1997–1998
Three Irish Comedies by Lady Gregory | Andrew Ryder, Director | |
Lettice and Lovage | Andrew Ryder, Director |
1996–1997
The Imaginary Invalid | Julia Reimer, Director | Theater Lab |
The Boys Next Door | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
Instruments of Peace (Chamber Theater) | Julia Reimer, Director | Butler MB Church |
1995–1996
Steel Magnolias | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | Alumni Hall |
Ultimate Faith (Readers Theater) | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | Butler MB Church |
Oklahoma! | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Stage Director Musical Director, Roy Klassen | Special Events Center |
1994–1995
Lost in Yonkers | Mary Freeman, Director | Alumni Hall |
Preacher/Poet (Readers Theater) | Billie Jean Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
As You Like It | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1993–1994
The Great Central Valley: A Sense of Place (Readers Theater) | Billie Jean Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
Who's Life Is It Anyway? | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
The Real Inspector Hound | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
1992–1993
Curious Savage | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | Ashley Auditorium |
The Barbarians Are Coming/ The Prophets | Doug Liechty-Caskey, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1991–1992
Easter (Strindberg) | Julia Reimer, Director | Theater Lab |
1990–1991
A Man for All Seasons | Teresa Choate, Director | Theater Lab |
110 in the Shade | Teresa Choate, Stage Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1989–1990
Shooting Stars | Teresa Choate, Director | Theater Lab |
Medea | Teresa Choate, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1988–1989
Sarcophagus | Teresa Choate, Director | Theater Lab |
![FPU performance photo from 1988](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/7-fpc-1988jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=HD_8BsvU)
The Tempest | Teresa Choate, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1987–1988
School for Scandal | Adrienne Cooper, Director | Alumni Hall |
Foxfire | Teresa Choate, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1986–1987
A Midsummer Night's Dream | Rich Robinson, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Children's Hour | Adrienne Cooper, Director | Theater Lab |
Crazy Quilt | Rich Robinson, Stage Director Larry Warkentin, Musical Director | Alumni Hall |
1985–1986
Our Town | Rich Robinson, Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
A Toby Show (Children's Show) | Rich Robinson, Director | Tour |
![FPU performance photo from 1985](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/6-fpc-1985jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=KHfvsav9)
The Music Man | Rich Robinson, Stage Director Roy Klassen, Vocal Director Larry Warkentin, Orchestra | Special Events Center |
1984–1985
The Good Doctor | Rich Robinson, Director | Witmarsum Basement |
David and Lisa | Rich Robinson, Director | Special Events Center |
1983–1984
Fiddler on the Roof | Cheryl Nash, Stage Director Curtis Funk, Musical Director | Special Events Center |
1982–1983&Բ;
Thurber: Mainly Men and Women, ٲ—IܲDz (Chamber Theater) | Jim Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Crucible | Jim Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
1981–1982&Բ;
The Potting Shed | Jim Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
Mikado | Jim Becker, Stage Director Curtis Funk, Musical Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
1980–1981
The Diary of Anne Frank | Jim Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
One Foot in America | Cheryl Nash, Director | Witmarsum Basement |
1979–1980
My Fair Lady | Jim Becker, Stage Director Curtis Funk, Musical Director | 51 Pacific Amphitheater |
The Lost Princess & The Light Princess (Readers Theater) | Kathleen Harris, Lei Bills, Directors | Alumni Hall |
1978–1979
Antigone (Anouihl) | Joan Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Flounder (Readers Theater) | Billie Jean Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Balloonman (Readers Theater) | Brenda Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
1977–1978
The Miracle Worker | Robert Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
Under Milkwood (Readers Theater) | Billie Jean Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Singer | Cheryl Nash, Director | College Community MB Church |
1976–1977
A Man for All Seasons | Alumni Hall | |
The Clown (Readers Theater) | Billie Jean Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
Camelot | Jim Becker, Stage Director Curtis Funk, Musical Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1975–1976
All My Sons | Jim Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Glass Menagerie | Leah Laraway, Director | Alumni Hall |
Everyman | Jim Becker, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1974–1975
The Pirates of Penzance | Jim Becker, Stage Director Curtis Funk, Musical Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1973–1974
The Word: An Evening of Plays about "Nontalk" | Jim Becker, Director | Alumni Hall |
Talk to the Animals (Children's Show) | ||
The Past Is Yet to Come | Jim Becker, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1972–1973
"In Newness of Life" | Dalton Reimer, Director | Reedley MB Church |
![Pacific College performance photo in the amphitheater from 1973](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/5-pc-1973jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=VsPQaRap)
1971–1972
Fiddler on the Roof | Dalton Reimer, Stage Director Larry Warkentin, Musical Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
The Taming of the Shrew | Phil Hofer, Director | Alumni Hall |
Antigone (Anouihl) (Readers Theater) | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
Prophet and Carpenter | Dalton Reimer, Director | Churches, College Hour |
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Children's Show) | Joan Becker, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1970–1971
Tall Tales and Short Songs | Faculty Production | Alumni Hall |
H.M.S. Pinafore | Dalton Reimer, Stage Director Larry Warkentin, Musical Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1969–1970
The World of Carl Sandberg | Faculty Readers Theater | Alumni Hall |
Pygmalion | Robert Wiebe, Director | Alumni Hall |
A Thurber Carnival (Readers Theater) | Luetta Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
Tartuffe | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
In White America (Readers Theater) | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Mikado | Dalton Reimer, Stage Director Larry Warkentin, Musical Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1968–1969
John Brown's Body | Faculty Readers Theater | Alumni Hall |
The Miracle Worker | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
Life, Judgement, Death(3 One-Acts) | Judy Karber, Luetta Feil, Directors | Alumni Hall |
![Pacific College performance photo from 1966](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/4-pc-1966jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=zen9W8EK)
1967–1968
The World of Sholom Aleichem | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
Brand | Dalton Reimer, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
The Devil and Daniel Webster (Folk Opera) | Larry Warkentin, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1966–1967
The House by the Stable/Grab and Grace | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
The Elder Statesman | Dalton Reimer, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1965–1966
The Sign of Jonah | Dalton Reimer, Director | Alumni Hall |
Brigadoon | Gary Unruh, Stage and Musical Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
1964–1965
An Enemy of the People | Donald Unruh, Director | Pacific College Amphitheater |
![Pacific College performance photo from 1964](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/3-pc-1964jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=z5i8M7Xx)
1963–1964
Amahl and the Night Visitors | Dalton Reimer, Stage Director Dietrich Friesen, Musical Director | Various churches, FCC Auditorium |
Everyman (Hofmannsthal) | Donald Unruh, Director | Library Patio |
1962–1963
Amahl and the Night Visitors | Dalton Reimer, Stage Director Dietrich Friesen, Musical Director | |
The Diary of Anne Frank | Donald Unruh, Director | Library Patio, Immanuel Academy Chapel |
1961–1962
Christ in the Concrete City | Dalton Reimer, Director | Pacific Coast MB Church tour |
Cry, the Beloved Country | Dalton Reimer, Director | Witmarsum Courtyard, Immanuel Academy Chapel, Bakersfield |
1961
Rejected | Dalton Reimer, Stage Director | Dietrich Friesen, Musical Director | AACC Hall, Immanuel Academy Chapel, Greeley Elementary (Rosedale) |
![Pacific College performance photo from 1961](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/2-pc-1961jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=zaa_1pjR)
1944
The Greatest Christmas Gift | Pacific Bible College |
![Pacific Bible Institute performance photo from 1944](/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/images/1-pbi-1944jpg-2021-11-10.jpg?itok=HwkowczI)