Oral History Introduction
The audio booth built for our collection of stories.
Last season (2023/2024), as part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we invited patrons to share their thoughts and memories of Syracuse Stage. In a small booth specifically constructed by Chad Healy, set up in the lobby, and outfitted with an I-pad, many audience members generously contributed their remembrances of Stage past (and present). Collectively these recordings form—if not quite an oral history—a kind of oral collage wherein the history of Syracuse Stage as experienced by the audience becomes manifest.
The recorded voices belong to the young and old, from age eight years to great grandparents, from subscribers 50 years strong to first time visitors, a remarkable kinship of disparate individuals connected by the common experience of Syracuse Stage, a community of hearts and minds touched by the artistry of local live theatre.
While each shared memory is unique to the individual, certain commonalities emerge when taken as a whole. Many patrons recalled a favorite show or couple of shows. Among these were some who specifically noted the way a particular performance had touched them profoundly or had challenged them to think about topics or perspectives they had not previously considered. For many, their favorite experiences were connected to sharing Syracuse Stage with family and friends, often across generations, testament not only to the power of theatre but to how Syracuse Stage’s impact on the community has deepened over time. As one patron noted, she wouldn’t want to have Syracuse without Syracuse Stage.
Scattered among the recollections are some wonderful stories in their own rights, some directly linked to the theatre, some tangential and inspired by productions or encounters with visiting artists. A precious few of these seemingly would have been lost forever save for the recording booth.
It bears recalling that at the advent of the regional theatre movement in America, an articulated goal was to establish institutions that would become cultural anchors, companies capable of providing first-rate professional productions to communities and of becoming agents and facilitators of local artistic opportunity and expression. In simpler words, theatres that would become part of the ongoing story of the communities they served.
Fifty years on it is exceptionally gratifying to realize that Syracuse Stage has fulfilled this aspirational goal. The company founded by Arthur Storch in 1974 to tell stories has indeed become part of the larger story of Central New York, of the City of Syracuse, of its valued partner Syracuse University, and as the recordings reveal, of the lives of many families and individuals.
The recordings posted here represent a sample of the total received. They help tell the story of Syracuse Stage thus far and point to the promise that lies ahead as the story continues into the future.
Note: While we requested that people state their names at the outset of each recording, not everyone remembered to do so. Consequently, some speakers are anonymous. Special thanks to Brenna Merritt, Chad Healy, and Korrie Tayor and the front of house staff of Syracuse Stage. Their assistance has made this oral history project possible.