From Board Member, Katelyn Manfre

March 2025
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Picture this: it’s an August evening on Hadley Road, late enough that the sun has gone down and no more light gets in through the cracks in the barn doors. The theater is pitch black at the climax of Wait Until Dark, Frederick Knott’s fast-paced thriller. The audience sits in breathless silence. Slowly, we hear the creak of a refrigerator door opening onstage. Light gets in. Just enough to see the villain’s face illuminated before he jumps. The door slams shut. The audience shrieks. And just backstage, an 11-year-old kid in prop glasses is watching, like she does every night, completely and utterly hooked.
 
This is the story I tell, at parties and on panels, when asked what inspired my career in the arts. I grew up at the Peterborough Players—acting, volunteering, running lights, building props, singing in cabarets, performing at fundraising events—and now, 25 years after my child star turn, I am proud to be writing to you today as a member of the Board of Directors. 
 
A key part of the Players mission is education; an investment in cultivating and nurturing the next generation of theater professionals. By including emerging artists in every step of the summer season–as staff, apprentices, actors, and technicians–young artists gain a practical understanding of how a theater operates, surrounded by professionals who mentor, teach, and lead by example.  I am a direct beneficiary of this educational initiative, and now work as an actor, director, and arts administrator, sharing a love for live performance that was born at the Players.
 
With state and federal funding greatly reduced or eliminated altogether, community support for local arts organizations is more important now than ever before. I cannot overstate what a gift this theater is to the Monadnock region. How lucky are we to have access to high-quality, thoughtful, engaging, moving, brilliant artists and performances year after year? Under Brendon and Tori’s exciting new leadership, we are gearing up for a dynamic summer season that will deliver on this great legacy, with a lineup of plays that celebrate unique characters finding community among themselves. It will be joyful and chilling and thought-provoking–sometimes all at once!
 
What was the moment that you were hooked? What inspired you to become a patron? A subscriber? A donor? When have you told someone about a show you saw, an actor you got to know, or a set design that left you in awe? Perhaps you were even in the audience one of those nights in August 1999 and remember the moment the lights went out and the refrigerator opened. 
 
With that in mind, I hope you consider a donation to the Players this spring. Every dollar raised goes to producing this summer’s season and launching our beloved theater into its thrilling next chapter. None of this is possible without you, and we are so grateful for your support, now and always.
 
See you at the theater!

Katelyn Manfre