The Slocum House was moved to Esther Short Park 100 years after it was built and hosted its first theater show in 1972. / Photo by Sarah Lynch

Theater companies come and go in Clark County, but Vancouver’s Slocum House Theatre has endured for 45 years.

To celebrate their milestone achievement the theater is holding a 45th Anniversary Party and 1960s Prom. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m., February 13 in the Hough School Gym. Patrons and the public can dance to a live retro band, win prizes, andget their picture taken, and the best dressed will be crowned King and Queen of the Prom. The annual theater awards will be presented as well.

Admission to the gala affair is $5 at the door; members get in free. Membership is $10.

The Playhouse

The theater, begun by the late Clark College theater instructor Hermine Decker in 1964, is located in a Victorian house that sits at the southwest corner of Esther Short Park.

Now on the National Registry of Historic Places the 1871 Slocum House was moved to Esther Short Park 100 years later and hosted its first show in 1972. However, the company had its very first show at Clark College in 1965 and now produces seven plays per year.

Rebecca Kramer, the company president, has been with the theater since 1982. She said she’s acted in about 25 of the company’s productions, but “I’ve had something to do with all of the shows since I began.”

The house, owned by the City of Vancouver, and the theater company have both undergone dramatic change over the years. In the beginning, under the direction and vision of Decker, the company performed only Victorian plays. The house had a dirt basement and the north wing was nonexistent.

Now the company performs everything from Shakespeare to Neil Simon as well as new, original material. The facility, too, continues to evolve and is currently being remodeled. The intimate playhouse seats just 58 people and shows generally run for close to a month to accommodate patrons. According to the S.W. Washington Paranormal Research Group, and others, the building is haunted.

The Players

Jim Fully did his first show with Slocum House in 1971 at the age of 13 and has been involved ever since. Fully met and married his wife in the theater.

“I enjoy theater a lot,” he said, “but I also enjoy eating so I have a real job, [but the theater] fills a lot of my needs.” Fully is directing The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife which opens February 26.

Kramer’s reasons for doing theater are slightly different.

“I have a husband and five kids; it was a way to get out of the house and do something else.” She enjoys not only doing theater, but the people she works with.

The non-profit theater company has an active, all-volunteer membership and board of directors dedicated to Vancouver’s theater scene. They are also dedicated to the community.

“We want the community to feel this is their theater,” said Kramer.

Fully did a show last year called The Queen of Bingo coinciding with a bingo raffle for a quilt that raised over $2,000. The money was given to Share House, because they had “a great need at the time.” Fully was awarded the theater’s Spotlight Award for his achievement. The group has also recently helped the YWCA.

This year’s new “Visibility Beyond Belief” campaign will involve the theater in the community even more. For starters the theater will present four mini-shows daily during Saturday Market that will feature musicians, jugglers, improv and other acts.
Visit www.slocumhouse.com for more information or follow Slocum on Facebook. For box office reservations call 360-696-2427 or email reservations@slocumhouse.com.