Behind the Pink Walls on Church Street, ACTS Keeps Alden on Stage

From the sidewalk, the building at 1470 Church St. is easy to pass by. Inside is a full theater, a costume and prop loft, and a volunteer company that has been putting on shows in Alden for more than three decades.

ACTS Community Theatre traces its start to 1990, when Kathleen Sutter and Mary C. Weisenburger wrote and staged "Acts, the musical," which opened June 1, 1990, at St. John the Baptist School gymnasium to standing-room-only crowds, according to the group's website. The company performed there until 2001, then moved to its current home.

Originally the Alden Christian Theatre Society, the group now goes by Alden Community Theatre Society. Board members said the change grew from a wish to welcome the whole community.

The season includes adult plays, dinner theater, a Christmas show and Rising Stars, a youth program led by Lori Gramza. The fall show, "Phantom of Center Stage," was a world premiere, and the holiday production, "What the Dickens," is next, board members said. Many local students list ACTS credits in their school playbills.

The all-volunteer group is mostly self-funded, with support from sponsors, donations and Erie County cultural grants. Trivia and bingo nights cost $5 a person, a price the board keeps low on purpose.

"It makes it an affordable night for a family to go out," one board member said.

Another, who grew up in town, said, "Alden runs a lot on sports," and the theater offers something else to be part of.

"A lot of people don't understand how important that is to have a theater in your town," a board member said.

ACTS also belongs to WNY ACTS, a network of Western New York community theaters, which board members said has brought new actors and audiences. The building hosts Bad Buffalo Listening Room concerts Nov. 14, Nov. 21 and Dec. 12.

Information: acts-theatre.com, (716) 937-7770 or acts.theater@gmail.com.