Sacramento Theatre Company
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Formed as the Sacramento Civic Repertory Theatre in 1942, the Sacramento Theatre Company has been a source of pride and cultural aspiration for the fast-growing city of Sacramento, California, capital of the most populous U.S. state. It was originally an ad hoc troupe formed to entertain locally stationed troops during World War II.
Realizing success on a tour of local military bases, the group 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 a Gold Rush-era theater, built largely of canvas, that had stood on the city's rough-and-tumble riverfront in the 1850s. 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-composer Gregg Coffin, playwright Richard Hellesen, and director Tim Ocel.
Peggy Shannon is artistic director of the company, which like regional theaters across the United States, has struggled to maintain its audience in the early 21st century.
