Waukesha Civic Theatre Expansion Planned

WAUKESHA, WI—People unfamiliar with the Waukesha Civic Theatre at 264 W. Main St. assume it is a movie theater since there is still an old ticket booth in the front of the building.

While it was a movie theater decades ago, this hidden gem has become a place to experience the performing arts as well as films in Waukesha.

"I believe our gem shouldn't be hidden. It should be bold and shiny," said Rhonda Schmidt, the theater's executive director.

The downtown building, previously known as The Pix Theatre, used to be a movie house which showed movies until the 1980's. The Pix Theatre was donated to the Waukesha Civic Theatre by Bryce and Anne Styza in the late '90s, renovated back to its original historic form and named for Margaret Brate Bryant as it was turned into a performing arts acts space.

The building was in need of facelift.

A $3 million building expansion campaign is planned to give the theater a new look.

The theater purchased the adjacent building that formerly housed the Little Swiss Clock Shop in 2020. The building will help create a new space for the theatre to grow.

The Academy Expansion Project will include a big and bright rehearsal and reception area, a new small theater called the Black Box Theatre with backstage and control areas for performers and technicians, and an office suite.

The theater will remodel the lobby and make the guest service areas of the box office, restrooms, concession, and bar area more suited for larger gatherings.

The former clock shop will help create more visibility for the theater on Main Street. Onlookers will see the action that is hidden from view.

The theater offers classes and camps as well as community theater outreach programs for schools and community organizations.

The academy offers year-round arts education programs for ages 6 and over in improvisation, comedy, character development, dance, and acting.

Schmidt said the new Academy Rehearsal Hall will allow the theater to serve more kids.

"We have kids rehearsing in hallways and eating lunch in the lobby. We need space," she said.

The new space will give people the opportunity to see rehearsals through a huge glass window on the second floor.

The whole front wall on the ground floor will be transformed into a garage door that opens and closes.

It will also serve as a reception and community event space.

"We are revitalizing the downtown area. What businesses and people have done to make this a special place, this is just going to enhance that even more," Schmidt said.

Programs and events

For Pride Month, the theater has launched The Laramie Project, a play about the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student. The Laramie Project is running until June 20.

"The Laramie Project is a breathtaking collage that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable," according to the website.

The film "Love Simon," about a teenage who no one knows is gay, will be shown at the theater on Monday night.

"We work to represent the community," Schmidt said.

Schmidt hints there will be a ton of options for people this season. Some of the musicals include "Sister Act," and "Mamma Mia."

"Our mission is to entertain, enrich, engage, and challenge," Schmidt told Patch.

Find more information on the Waukesha Civic Theatre.