An ancient idea and how it could benefit our community!
By Michael Strawderman
Last October, my wife and I traveled to Greece – a destination that had been on our “bucket list” of travel destinations for quite a while. For me, personally, one of the highlights of the trip had to be seeing all of the amazing theaters that I had both learned about in college and taught my students about during my 30-year tenure as a drama teacher. Ancient Greece, as you may know, is where theatre got its official start over 8,000 years ago.
Back then, actual theater structures could be found in just about every populated area of ancient Greece. In fact, during our 2+ week trip, practically every place that we visited featured a theater (or the remnants of one). In Delphi, near the site of the mystical oracle, there was a theater. In Ephesus (now a part of Turkey), there was a theater where, around 53 A.D., the Apostle Paul proselytized to the citizens of Ephesus – perhaps sharing some of the same advice that can be read in his New Testament Letter to the Ephesians). And, naturally, in Athens there were multiple theaters; but most notably the Theater of Dionysus, located at the base of the Acropolis. The theater that I was most eager to see, however, was the theater of Epidaurus.
Built in the late 4th century B.C., the theater of Epidaurus would become one of the largest ancient theatres ever built. Featuring 55 tiers of seating, it could seat somewhere around 14,000 spectators. Try to wrap your head around that number for a moment, if you can. The combined populations of Broadway, Timberville, and neighboring New Market could be comfortably seated in this theatre and still have about 3,000 seats to spare. Pretty mind boggling, to say the least. An equally impressive feature of the theater of Epidaurus is that it’s about as acoustically perfect a structure as you can get. Given its sheer size and lack of modern-day amplification equipment, the design of the space had to be perfect, and it still is to this very day. An ancient actor (or modern-day tourist) could stand in the middle of the orchestra (the circular area at the base of the theater) and, if they spoke with a well-supported voice, could easily be heard by even the audience members seated in the top rows of the theater. Oh, yeah, and one more amazing fact. Despite the fact that the theater of Epidaurus is over 6,000 years old, it is still in such great condition that it continues to host theatrical performances to this very day!
Living in an age where practically all of our needs – from socializing to entertainment – can be served by an electronic device, it’s hard to grasp how important the role of theatre was to people living in ancient times. Back then, theater was more than just entertainment; it also helped to shape the culture and social fabric of the nearby communities. Many of the dramatic performances were deeply connected to religion, reinforcing the community’s connections to their deities as well as to each other. The performances also raised social and political issues. For example, the comedies of Aristophanes criticized contemporary political figures and societal norms, often making the audience laugh while prompting them to critically think about their circumstances. The theater also functioned as a platform for civic responsibility. The themes in many of the plays of the time challenged the audiences to contemplate moral dilemmas, leading to a more informed and responsible citizenry. But perhaps most importantly, the theaters served as a hub that brought people together from the surrounding areas to not only participate in a communal experience but, at the same time, boost their local economies.
Fast forward to Broadway/Timberville and its surrounding communities in 2025. While I know I’m a bit biased, I think we are quite fortunate to have The Off Broadway Players in our community. Did you realize that, out of all the towns in Rockingham County, ours is the only one that can claim to have its own resident community theatre company? Now imagine the possibilities if we took inspiration from the ancient Greeks and started making tangible progress towards establishing a permanent theater in Broadway? We already have an existing historic building that was earmarked for that very purpose way back in 2020. Much like the ancient theaters of old, this theater could become a valuable entertainment hub for our area. But in addition to hosting theatrical performances, it could also host music events, traveling performance acts, and screenings of movies. This theater could also serve as a place to host communal events like social gatherings (for instance, a gala celebration on New Year’s Eve) or rented out for private events like wedding receptions or retirement celebrations. The possibility of having a permanent theater space, coupled with the possibilities of becoming an eventual terminus point for the Shenandoah Rail Trail (the events regarding the delays of this project are fodder for a completely different editorial), are just the ingredients that Broadway needs to kindle its very own “renaissance”. And with all of these newly-acquired entertainment, social, and outdoor opportunities, chances are good that it would entice visitors to our area, bolstering our local economies. To coin a phrase from the movie, “Field of Dreams” – “if you build it, he(they) will come.”
But how do we begin the process of implementing the ancient Greeks’ brilliant use of theatre into our own community? First, we need to let our local, county, and state officials know that having our own theater/event center in Broadway is a good investment that needs to be put on a fast track to fruition. Secondly, we need to seek out and acquire financial support for this project. For the second consecutive year, The Off Broadway Players are participating in the “Great Community Give” – an initiative of The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County – which promotes charitable giving to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations. It’s a perfect opportunity for anyone to invest in our community and increase the capacity of our nonprofit organization. You can support The Off Broadway Players during this year’s event (slated for April 16th from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.) by simply visiting the Community Foundation’s website, greatcommunitygive.org., and making a donation. In addition, you can also make a financial contribution to our organization anytime of the year by visiting our website, offbroadwayplayersva.org, and clicking on the “Donation” button located at the top of the home page. We’ve been imagining the possibilities for the past few years. Now is the time to begin making it a reality.
