Our Mission

The Holmdel Theatre Company is a non-profit, semi-professional, educational theatre company dedicated to presenting classical plays as well as rarely presented dramas and comedies. The Company's unique mission seeks to integrate professional actors, technicians, designers and directors with non-professionals and young people in a synergistic artistic and educational exchange. This initiative is used in an effort to raise the level of performance and to help all performers grow artistically from the exposure to professionals in the field. When new emerging talent rubs elbows with our established members and our highly accomplished equity guest performers, a special electricity is generated that is uniquely ours.

Since 1985 the HTC has served the community with a diverse selection of theatrical productions. After incorporating in 1987, the HTC has presented two to three productions per season in addition to workshops, coffeehouses, theater arts instruction, new play readings and art shows. The diversity of the productions has provided a tremendous experience for the performers, technicians and audiences alike.

A teaching theatre

Through our theatre arts instruction, young artists experience the responsibilities and satisfaction of stage work. Workshops are intensive 3 to 4-week programs open to all children, disabled and able-bodied without audition. They are designed to nurture budding talents by creating a safe haven where students feels comfortable performing and receiving constructive feedback. This is done through improvisations, theatre games, scene studies and monologue work. Familiarity with these fields is necessary for a successful performer, but the skills learned in the acting component also translate directly into the workplace and everyday life. Not only do students build a solid foundation in the arts, but they also build self-confidence, enhance self-esteem, develop communication skills and have fun discovering and exploring their talents. The goal of the Workshops is to provide a voice for each student and tools that they can take with them and use throughout their lifetime.

An intimate theatre experience

Making this sophisticated informality possible is The Duncan Smith Theater. Congenial and warm, this historic, 125-year-old barn has been transformed into a modern, fully air-conditioned facility with 99 comfortably cushioned seats. The HTC performance space is a black box theatre that allows for flexibility in stage and seating arrangement to suit the specific requirements of a production. The Duncan Smith theatre gives each artist the opportunity to explore more experimental modes of performance. This intimate space allows the audience to connect with the performing artists.

Named for the late Duncan Smith, a young theatre enthusiast described as "the knot that tied us all together" by colleagues, the Theatre continues to draw actors and audiences closer together in a most remarkable fashion. While we've grown in recognition and accomplishment, the Company has never outgrown its heart. Audiences can feel it in the intensity and quality of every performance. It's there for you to experience every time you spend an evening with the Holmdel Theatre Company.