Saint Sebastian Players
In 1981, the St. Sebastian Parish located at the corner of Halsted and Wellington on Chicago’s North Side, undertook a parish spiritual renewal program. As part of that program, a group of parishioners decided to fulfill the requirement for a “large-group activity” by staging the musical Godspell. The show was a great success, and two of the cast members, Libby Larkin and Jim Masini, wanted to find a way to keep alive the spirit and fun engendered by the production.
Toward that end, Larkin and Masini founded the St. Sebastian Drama Club. Its mission was to “help unify the parish through the training of parishioners in rudimentary dramatic arts, the staging of theatrical productions with parish talent and the encouragement of dramatic expression in all areas of parish life.”
A
working group of parishioners soon gathered under this banner and began
preparing for a first production. In May 1982, the group presented You’re A
Good Man, Charlie
Brown...and the rest, as they say, is
history.
Although that first season was produced exclusively by parishioners, the group realized as early as 1983 that they needed to avail themselves of outside resources in order to continue the growth and sustain the energy they desired. With that in mind, the group amended the charter that year to open membership to “friends of St. Sebastian Parish.” In November 1984, to reflect its increasing sophistication and growing community involvement, the group formally changed its name to the Saint Sebastian Players, also known as SSP.
The company’s first six seasons generally consisted of a musical in the spring, a nonmusical play in the fall and a Christmas play or presentation in December, the latter frequently in conjunction with the St. Sebastian School. In 1988, the season expanded to three productions with the addition of a summer play. Other developments over the years have included productions of several audience-participation murder mysteries, written by SSP members and presented at outside venues as fund-raisers for the company.
In the summer of 1989, literally in the middle of a performance of The Night of January 16th, the St. Sebastian Church burned down. The play was being performed in the basement cafeteria of the adjacent school. One of the cast members, Rob McKersie, went outside to see if he could help. At great personal risk, he insisted on going into the burning, smoke-filled church to make sure that no one was inside. He pulled an unconscious man out of the building and still managed to make his entrance at the end of Act II, proving himself to be both a hero and a dedicated actor!
SSP finished its 1989 season as planned, but at the end of the year, the Archdiocese announced plans to close St. Sebastian Parish in June 1990. Given that decision, SSP decided to cancel its original plans for the 1990 season and instead present a farewell revival of Godspell. Meanwhile, St. Sebastian parishioners and members of SSP were searching actively for a new home. After some study and visits to surrounding parishes, the main body of parishioners decided to move to St. Bonaventure. SSP then accepted the invitation of St. Bonaventure to move there as well.
Due to the name recognition that the group already had achieved during eight seasons, and in testimony to the important role the St. Sebastian Parish played in its formation, the group decided to keep the name Saint Sebastian Players. SSP spent its first year at its new home renovating the basement space and performing murder mysteries to raise money. In 1991, the company opened its first three-play season at St. Bonaventure with Exit the Body, directed by SSP cofounder Jim Masini.
Shortly after moving to its new home, the company made an important decision regarding its public identity. The membership decided to stop calling itself a “community” theatre and instead identify itself as a not-for-profit non-Equity company.
Each year, the company has worked hard to improve the technical aspects of its productions, expanding its lighting and set construction capabilities as quickly as it can raise the necessary funds. SSP also has instituted the annual Monologue Matchup, a competition/showcase for local actors, and produced its first latenight show in 1995. Audiences followed SSP to its new home and continue to grow each year. Today, with so many theatre companies coming and going, SSP’s longevity is a true testament to its success. Surviving the loss of its original home, SSP literally rose from the ashes like the mythical “phoenix” stronger than before.
