Established in the fall of 1966, EN Theatre celebrates 50+ years of excellence. The theatre has seen many changes over the last 50+ years, but the tradition of quality theatre has never changed. "Act well your part for there all honor lies" has truly been the motto of Thespian Troupe 1106 from the very beginning. Mr. Larry Newton was the first director of theatre in 1966, and he served as the head director until the spring of 1969.
Mr. Larry Newton-
EN Theatre Director, 1966-1969
Already at the scene was was a new assistant director, Mr. Craig Munk, who had started teaching at EN in the fall of 1968, and would later to become the head director in the fall of 1969.
With a newly formed theatre program many changes took place. One of the first was the introduction of the Homecoming Variety Show in the fall of 1970. The variety show featured many performing groups of the high school, and some high school faculty stepped into the spotlight on occasion. The Homecoming Variety Show, later to be known as the Variety Show continued until the fall of 1984 with the last show titled, Break Through.
With a newly formed theatre program many changes took place. One of the first was the introduction of the Homecoming Variety Show in the fall of 1970. The variety show featured many performing groups of the high school, and some high school faculty stepped into the spotlight on occasion. The Homecoming Variety Show, later to be known as the Variety Show continued until the fall of 1984 with the last show titled, Break Through.
Mr. Craig Munk circa 1968
The theatre season went from a three show season to a four show season with the addition of dinner theatre in the Winter of 1972. The cafeteria was turned into an intimate dinner theatre, and the first show produced was, The Fantasticks. The dinner theatre concept was moved to the backstage area of the Cole Auditorium in 1982. Some EN Theatre productions that came from dinner theatre over the years included, Stop the World, Gypsy, and Applause.
With a four show season running smoothly, it was time to expand the the program. In the winter of 1973, Evening of Theatre was added, and the talents of an additional director were evident. It was that year that Mr. Bob Avery joined the staff as the director of the Evening of Theatre productions. Mr. Avery directed every evening of theatre production with the exception of one from 1973 until his retirement in 2016. His final show at East Noble was the hilarious comedy, The Nerd.
With a four show season running smoothly, it was time to expand the the program. In the winter of 1973, Evening of Theatre was added, and the talents of an additional director were evident. It was that year that Mr. Bob Avery joined the staff as the director of the Evening of Theatre productions. Mr. Avery directed every evening of theatre production with the exception of one from 1973 until his retirement in 2016. His final show at East Noble was the hilarious comedy, The Nerd.
Bob Avery-
Evening of Theatre director, 1973 to 2016
In the summer of 1975 a summer theatre season was added to East Noble Theatre. Audiences enjoyed shows like, Harvey, Brigadoon, and Godspell. The summer program later became Kendallville Summer Theatre and is known today as Gaslight Playhouse Inc.
In the spring of 1981, East Noble Theatre said farewell to their home at the Central Auditorium with a production of The Wiz, and a special farewell presentation. Just five months later in the fall of 1981, EN Theatre moved into their new home, the Cole Auditorium. A gala opening celebration, Overtures of a Celebration, featured community members, alumni, and high school talents. This new 750 seat auditorium allowed Mr. Munk to introduce stagecraft into the high school curriculum at ENHS.
With growth and change very much a part of the EN Theatre program, Mr. Munk's theatre classes created the very popular, Breakfast with Santa in the winter of 1983. BWS serves almost 500 guests for breakfast, and includes a visit from Santa Claus.
After the variety shows had ended, and were no longer part of the theatre season, the theatre teamed up with the vocal music department to create, Raise a Ruckus in the fall of 1989. This country style musical revue is now part of the Kendallville Apple Festival and has been seen by thousands of festival goers in the last 30 years. This foot stomping show has definitely made a name for East Noble Theatre. Since 1992 special guests in the show have included the current reigning Miss Indiana and in 2011 we added Miss Indiana's Outstanding Teen.
In the spring of 1981, East Noble Theatre said farewell to their home at the Central Auditorium with a production of The Wiz, and a special farewell presentation. Just five months later in the fall of 1981, EN Theatre moved into their new home, the Cole Auditorium. A gala opening celebration, Overtures of a Celebration, featured community members, alumni, and high school talents. This new 750 seat auditorium allowed Mr. Munk to introduce stagecraft into the high school curriculum at ENHS.
With growth and change very much a part of the EN Theatre program, Mr. Munk's theatre classes created the very popular, Breakfast with Santa in the winter of 1983. BWS serves almost 500 guests for breakfast, and includes a visit from Santa Claus.
After the variety shows had ended, and were no longer part of the theatre season, the theatre teamed up with the vocal music department to create, Raise a Ruckus in the fall of 1989. This country style musical revue is now part of the Kendallville Apple Festival and has been seen by thousands of festival goers in the last 30 years. This foot stomping show has definitely made a name for East Noble Theatre. Since 1992 special guests in the show have included the current reigning Miss Indiana and in 2011 we added Miss Indiana's Outstanding Teen.
The 25th cast of Raise a Ruckus. Raise a Ruckus celebrated 30 years in October of 2018.
In the spring of 1991 East Noble Theatre celebrated 25 years of theatre with a gala production featuring students and alumni from all 25 years of the program.
Over the years EN Theatre has been very involved with performing throughout the state at State Thespian Conferences. The theatre has had many award winning productions in its 50+ year history. In the spring of 1997 new opportunities for awards were made possible for individual theatre students with a program entitled Project XL. This project focused on creative youth and their talents. ENT was named the 1997 Overall State Champions, and State Performance Champions in 2001 and 2003. They placed top 5 in 2009, and Project XL ended that year.
2001 marked the 35th year of East Noble Theatre. To celebrate this occasion over 200 alumni and students from the last 35 years attended and brought to life many characters that they had portrayed many years earlier. A lasting memento of the celebration is a beautiful display case gifted by the EN Theatre alumni.
With the 21st century came numerous new and challenging shows such as, Footloose, Honk, Into the Woods, and Seussical. In the spring of 2005 the theatre set the community talking with an elaborate $50,000 production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The show had two sold out weekends.
In the Spring of 2008 the theatre added a student directed children's theatre production. This became an instant hit with the community. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce young people to the theatre and also gave the high school students an opportunity to take leadership positions among their peers. Student directed shows included Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Cat in the Hat, Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Aristacats, and Pinocchio.
With Project XL ending, Troupe 1106 again got involved with the IN State Thespian Conference and got placed in the top 5 for the next three years with original works. Created yearly Mr. Munk's theatre classes wrote and produced original shows tackling numerous social issues. The 2012 show, More than Just a Picture, placed 3rd at State. That same year, Mr. Munk was added to the Indiana Thespian Hall of Fame. The next year, with their original piece, Between the Bells (2014), East Noble theatre had placed 2nd at the state conference. Other original works that have made it to state include Skeletons in the Closet (2011), and The Dash (2020).
In 2011 the theatre once again held a celebration show celebrating 45 years of EN Theatre. In 2012, following a production of Legally Blonde, Dr. Jim Jansen, and Pam Younce made a special presentation and Mayor Handshoe proclaimed "The Munk Stage" a historical landmark. This was a huge surprise to the Munks and to the cast.
Over the years EN Theatre has been very involved with performing throughout the state at State Thespian Conferences. The theatre has had many award winning productions in its 50+ year history. In the spring of 1997 new opportunities for awards were made possible for individual theatre students with a program entitled Project XL. This project focused on creative youth and their talents. ENT was named the 1997 Overall State Champions, and State Performance Champions in 2001 and 2003. They placed top 5 in 2009, and Project XL ended that year.
2001 marked the 35th year of East Noble Theatre. To celebrate this occasion over 200 alumni and students from the last 35 years attended and brought to life many characters that they had portrayed many years earlier. A lasting memento of the celebration is a beautiful display case gifted by the EN Theatre alumni.
With the 21st century came numerous new and challenging shows such as, Footloose, Honk, Into the Woods, and Seussical. In the spring of 2005 the theatre set the community talking with an elaborate $50,000 production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The show had two sold out weekends.
In the Spring of 2008 the theatre added a student directed children's theatre production. This became an instant hit with the community. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce young people to the theatre and also gave the high school students an opportunity to take leadership positions among their peers. Student directed shows included Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Cat in the Hat, Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Aristacats, and Pinocchio.
With Project XL ending, Troupe 1106 again got involved with the IN State Thespian Conference and got placed in the top 5 for the next three years with original works. Created yearly Mr. Munk's theatre classes wrote and produced original shows tackling numerous social issues. The 2012 show, More than Just a Picture, placed 3rd at State. That same year, Mr. Munk was added to the Indiana Thespian Hall of Fame. The next year, with their original piece, Between the Bells (2014), East Noble theatre had placed 2nd at the state conference. Other original works that have made it to state include Skeletons in the Closet (2011), and The Dash (2020).
In 2011 the theatre once again held a celebration show celebrating 45 years of EN Theatre. In 2012, following a production of Legally Blonde, Dr. Jim Jansen, and Pam Younce made a special presentation and Mayor Handshoe proclaimed "The Munk Stage" a historical landmark. This was a huge surprise to the Munks and to the cast.
The next few years brought many big shows to Kendallville including, Grease, The Little Mermaid, Shrek: The Musical, and The Drowsy Chaperone. East Noble Theatre ended their 2013 season with a variety show called, A Salute to Kendallville. The community celebrated 150 years of our home town. Mayor Handshoe, ended the show by presenting a Key to the City to Craig and Karen Munk.
In 2016 Craig Munk announced his retirement after 48 years as the director of EN Theatre. Bob Avery also announced his retirement. That year, Craig was nominated for a Tony award and he and Karen appeared on the Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb to be honored for their 48 year career.
The 2016 season included, Disney's Mary Poppins, The Nerd, and How to Succeed.
For their final "hurrah" for Craig Munk and Bob Avery, hundreds of EN Theatre alumni returned to Kendallville to celebrate 50 years of EN Theatre. Mayor Handshoe made an appearance to proclaim June 11, 2016 Craig and Karen Munk Day.
Following the performance the alumni had a Cabaret celebration at the Kendallville Event Center to honor Craig, Bob, and 50 years of the theatre they loved so much.
In 2016 Craig Munk announced his retirement after 48 years as the director of EN Theatre. Bob Avery also announced his retirement. That year, Craig was nominated for a Tony award and he and Karen appeared on the Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb to be honored for their 48 year career.
The 2016 season included, Disney's Mary Poppins, The Nerd, and How to Succeed.
For their final "hurrah" for Craig Munk and Bob Avery, hundreds of EN Theatre alumni returned to Kendallville to celebrate 50 years of EN Theatre. Mayor Handshoe made an appearance to proclaim June 11, 2016 Craig and Karen Munk Day.
Following the performance the alumni had a Cabaret celebration at the Kendallville Event Center to honor Craig, Bob, and 50 years of the theatre they loved so much.
After the retirement of Craig Munk and Bob Avery a new director of East Noble Theatre was named. Miss Chloe Hines, who had served as Craig's student teacher would now be the head director. She also took on the Evening of Theatre directing position. Miss Hines produced shows such as Disney's Tarzan, 12 Angry Jurors, The Sound of Music, Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Elf, and Rumors. She served as the head director from the fall of 2016 until her resignation in spring of 2018.
Miss Chloe Hines- EN Theatre director, 2016 to 2018
After the resignation of Miss Hines, EN Theatre hired 2014 East Noble Graduate, Josh Ogle. He was active in the theatre and show choir programs, and had appeared in many shows on the Munk Stage as a student. He was also the current president of Gaslight Playhouse Inc. One of Mr. Ogle's first decisions as head director was to get a logo designed for the theatre. Josh plans to give the kids the great theatre experiences and knowledge that he was given under Mr. Munk when he was a student at ENHS.
Mr. Josh Ogle- EN Theatre Director, 2018 to Present
Mr. Ogle isn't the only alumni on the theatre staff. With the hiring of Josh, also came the hiring of Darren Sible as the director of an Evening of Theatre. Mr. Sible graduated from East Noble in 2012 and is now an English teacher. He serves as our box office manager as well. Although he no longer directs the play (a torched passed to Mrs. Suzette White), he remains box office manager.
Mr. Darren Sible- Box Office Manager
After Ogle, the theatre program was temporarily ran by Mr. Gavin Thomas Drew who did 3 musicals with East Noble. Directing Bright Star, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and Disaster!.
Miss Kathryn Rohlfing- EN Theatre Director 2024 to Current
Following Drew's resignation, the helm of theatre teacher and director passed to Miss Kathryn Rohlfing. Kathryn coming in with 17 years of theatre experience and 3 awards (2 Regional and 1 National) from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for he work with student theater. She started her first season with East Noble with Raise a Ruckus, Grease, and finishing out the season with Pippin.
East Noble Theatre has a beautiful history of hard work, friendships, memories, song, dance, and good times! Here is to the next 50 years!
East Noble Theatre has a beautiful history of hard work, friendships, memories, song, dance, and good times! Here is to the next 50 years!