Sacramento Theatre Company - History

History

The theater was originally formed as the Sacramento Civic Repertory Theatre in 1942, an ad hoc troupe formed to entertain locally stationed troops during World War II.Realizing success on a tour of local military bases, the Sacramento Civic Repertory Theatre aspired to a theater of its own and on October 18, 1949 it achieved that goal with the opening of the Eaglet Theatre, named in honor of the Eagle, a Gold Rush-era theater, built largely of canvas, that had stood on the city's riverfront in the 1850s. As a "little theater," as community theaters of the time were often called, the SCRT's home was considered a little Eagle. The theater benefited from the patronage of newspaper executive and heiress Eleanor McClatchy, an enthusiastic theater supporter. It was also, briefly, the creative home of aspiring actor Tom Hanks.

The Eaglet became the Mainstage of the nonprofit Sacramento Theatre Company, which evolved from community theater to professional troupe in the 1980s. Now staging plays in two performances spaces, it is the oldest professional theater in Sacramento. STC, as it is known, has been instrumental in the careers of such regional theater professionals as playwright Richard Hellesen and director Tim Ocel.

STC-2 is the Young Professionals Conservatory founded in 2003 for actors ages 12-20. Saffron Henke, and associate artist of STC, directed the company for the first four years and directed several plays including A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tale.