Shingle Creek Neighborhood Assn.

Camden Theater Debuts Sells Out 4 Times!

by Dan Hylton

Residents of Camden had to wait over 25 years for the return of live theatre to their north Minneapolis community. But when Camden Civic Theatre opened the box office doors for their debut performance of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor, the neighborhood responded in full force. All four performances sold out and the box office was faced with the welcome “problem” of trying to find space for over 15 additional patrons per show!

Enthusiastic crowds at Creekview Community Center laughed and cheered as local talent brought to life a series of hilarious vignettes based on writings by Russian writer Anton Chekov. Although talent, such as director Jaron Burdick (Hodge Podge Theatre Company), was brought in from throughout the Twin Cities; Camden residents were well represented in the production, filling such roles as producer/artistic director (Jeff Redman), cast (Dan Hylton, Jeff Johnson), stage manager (Cheri Moseman), company manager (Jenni Redman), pianist (Jaette Carpenter), and box office manager (Phillip Knoll).

Local theatre practitioner Jeff Redman has been teaching Minneapolis Community Education theatre classes in Camden for the past two years (the classes are still being taught, and will be offered again this fall with classes for both beginning and intermediate acting). However, Camden Civic Theatre was not officially formed until this past winter when Redman and a small group of his dedicated prot?©g?©s launched the theatre company as an non-profit entity. The Good Doctor was CCT’s first full-fledged public stage production but, gauging by its success; residents of Camden should be able to look forward to many more seasons to come.