Theatre in the Park
Theatre in the Park OUTDOOR
Theatre in the Park is the largest outdoor community theatre in the country. Our outdoor amphitheater is tucked into 10 beautiful acres in Shawnee Mission Park with a separate entrance at 7710 Renner Road. Located just north of I-435 Highway and 87th Street, our facility is easily accessible from anywhere in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The casts from our shows are selected after an incredible weekend of auditions in the spring drawing hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of aspiring actors from our surrounding communities.
Come early (gates open at 7pm every performance evening) to enjoy the park setting before the show begins at 8.30pm. Theatre patrons bring blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic baskets.
Typically, each performance lasts about 2 hours with a 20 minute intermission.
Theatre in the Park is handicapped accessible with reserved parking, ramps and wheelchair seating areas. The entrance at GATE 3 is the easiest for patrons preferring a gentler slope into the seating bowl. Sign language interpretation is provided at the second Saturday performance of each show.
Theatre in the Park is supported by the generosity of many area corporations and foundations that believe like we do that The Theatre in the Park enhances the quality of life in our communities. However, only about 40% of our operating budget is from tax support and these vital sponsors help finance our program with funds, materials, and/or service contributions. Many companies in our community offer matching grant programs to their employees as well, and we encourage you to check with your corporation to see if you can DOUBLE your contribution to TIP!
Theatre in the Park enjoys the vitality and countless hours of dedication from its many volunteers who help with auditions, promotional events and clean-up projects at Theatre facility. A wide variety of employment opportunities are also available at Theatre in the Park. Creative talents are used for set design, sound, lighting, costumes and props. Our seasonal staff positions also include the box office, concession stand and parking staff.
The theater facility and Theater Pavilion, are available for rent for special events, corporate gatherings, public attractions, concerts and fundraising events.
Theatre in the Park INDOOR
King Louie West becomes Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center
1959– Bowling alley opened; closed in 2009
1966—Ice rink opened; closed in 2007 due to equipment failure
The original architect was a local man named, Manual Morris. He designed both portions in a mid-century modern aesthetic. Ice Chateau considered “Googie” architecture, a sub-set of modern architecture influenced by car culture, the Atomic Age and the space age. King Louie’s accordion roof and front entry spire are indicative of its Googie style.
SFS, a Kansas-City based architecture firm, was responsible for re-purposing the building.
Kansas City-based firm McCownGordon was selected as the general contractor.
The Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center opened June 10, 2017 to rave reviews from county patrons and staff. The Blackbox Theater then became a great home for the Theatre In The Park Indoor productions. The addition of the Blackbox Theater and the Arts and Heritage Center allowed for the Theatre In The Park Academy to also open its “doors”.
The Blackbox Theater is a 60’x60′ space that can be setup in numerous ways. In its first year of operation the space found itself stage space for 6 to 80 actors, and the house count ranging anywhere from 100 to 260 seats. As a rental space, the Blackbox Theater is available for professional, amateur, and educational theatrical companies to have a state of the art performance space.
TIP performances in the space range anywhere from Kid Friendly to Adults Only. The Indoor Space allows for the repertoire of material to broaden its horizons from the large outdoor amphitheater. The addition of the space also allowed for a huge increase of productions, from the normal 5 a summer, to 12 a year!
OUR VISION
Theatre in the Park will be the leader in providing our audiences with quality, affordable entertainment and our participants with rewarding artistic opportunities.
OUR MISSION
To enhance the quality of life in our community by providing a variety of entertainment programs through public and private partnerships.
CASTING
Theatre in the Park is committed to non-discrimination and a flexible, imaginative casting policy. We also strive to be culturally conscience as it pertains to social and historical content. Performers of all ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition.
