The Beecher Community Part-Time Players, Inc. became a not-for-profit organization in the spring of 1993. In 2021 BPTP became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. A benefit production of “The Boys from Syracuse” was performed in the Beecher High School Gym in the summer of l992, directed by John Dean, to raise money for the Beecher Recreation organization. All profits went to that group for the work with the summer youth programs. After that production a winter dinner/theater event featuring “Plaza Suite” by Neil Simon was held at Shady Lawn Golf Course in Beecher as a fundraiser for the Quasquicentennial commission who was spearheading Beecher’s 125th birthday to be held in the summer of 1995.
After the successful run of both productions a group of individuals decided to establish an organization to provide theatrical and musical entertainment to Beecher and its surrounding communities. From that point on the group performed a major musical and a winter play almost every year. Additionally, the group was asked to provide vocal performances for civic organizations, philanthropic groups and commercial enterprises. Many of the productions were performed at Zion Lutheran Church’s parish hall and later in the Beecher Amvet Hall. Unlike many groups that have a “theater home”, the Beecher Part-Time Players had to build a stage and a set from an empty space, develop a portable lighting grid and sound system while rehearsing the production, and then, the day after the last show, tear it all down, thoroughly clean the rented space and pack it all away. Besides the acting performers, a pit band had to be assembled to provide the accompaniments for the production. High school students and area adults who enjoyed playing their musical instruments worked many hours to provide the full musical experience for the productions.
After the library and the historical society relocated from the auditorium portion of the Beecher Community Hall the stage was available for theatrical productions. The local schools and the Part-Time Players have been able to hold their theatrical productions in this space. The Beecher Part-Time Players have provided materials and many hours of free labor to augment the stage and make the space more workable for productions.
The Beecher Part-Time Players, have brought live entertainment to the citizens of Beecher and the surrounding communities for over 25 years. It has had entire families in a single production, children as young as four and a married couple in their early eighties participate in a production. The group welcomes new members from Beecher as well as surrounding communities and hopes to continue to provide live theatrical entertainment to the area for years to come.