- Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse
- Opened in 1924 as the Aladdin Theater
- Transitioned to a community playhouse in the late 1980s under Brevard Community College’s stewardship
- Underwent restoration and expansion, including a half-million dollar renovation in 2014
- Celebrated its centennial in 2024, underscoring its role as a cultural institution for more than a century.
- Gainesville Community Playhouse
- Started as Gainesville Little Theater; acquired a home in 1961 by relocating a building to a permanent site
- Built their first stage and seating with donated materials (seats from old Florida Theatre).
- Opened a new theater building (Vam York Theater) in 2005 after extensive fundraising
- Cultural Park Theatre (Cape Coral)
- Founded in 1963 in a storefront, named Cape Coral Players.
- Evolved into a stable community theater with a permanent location, educational programs, and regular seasons
- Stage Crafters Community Theatre (Fort Walton Beach area)
- Operates as Florida’s oldest all-volunteer community theater.
- Throughout its history, it has provided performance opportunities, training, and social connection for thousands of community members.
- Hippodrome Theatre (Gainesville)
- Founded in 1973, initially in a modest converted space
- Relocated and restored a historic Federal Building, reopening there in 1980.
- Named a State Theatre of Florida in 1981
- Through the years, it has hosted premieres, educational programs, and community-driven efforts
- Venice Theatre
- Originally the Venice Little Theatre, opened in 1950
- Acquired and converted a former military institute building (Kentucky Military Institute) in 1973 for theatrical use
- It represents the adaptive reuse of existing local infrastructure for the arts. shutdown123
Key Case Studies
To illustrate how historic trends played out concretely, here are several notable examples of Florida community theaters whose histories encapsulate broader patterns.