Albany Civic Theater

Our Mission
It is the intent of Albany Civic Theater to provide education and training in acting, directing, writing, speech, staging, producing, reviewing, and other aspects of the dramatic arts.

We aim to encourage and foster community interest and participation in the dramatic arts through the non-profit sponsorship of plays, lectures, publications, workshops, study groups, drama libraries and related activities.

Our History
Albany Civic Theater got its start in February 1955 when Marion Karczmar directed Blithe Spirit just nine months after the group's first organizational meeting. The organizers filled the void left when Malcolm Atterbury closed The Playhouse, a professional theater on Lodge Street.

The Ilium Players of Troy united with the Albany Dramatic Group to form Albany Civic Theater after a chance meeting on Lodge Street in downtown Albany of Sally Wallenstein (later Mrs. Louis Fiordilino) of the Troy group and Martha J. Downey of the Albany group.

In 1957, A.C.T. moved to 115 Beaver Street and began using the second-floor space for storage and rehearsals. After months of work, the second floor was transformed to make a theater with 125 seats.

Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's plan for an impressive series of office buildings south of the Capitol threatened to end A.C.T. abruptly, but then-President Jean Hoyt contacted City Hall. Council President Dick Conners, with the approval of Mayor Erastus Coming II, suggested we take a look at an old firehouse on Second Avenue.

The building did not inspire hope. Most people thought it was totally inappropriate, but a theater architect from the New York State Council on the Arts examined the building and made suggestions.

Louis Urbano built the stage, while Maureen "Mo" Dumas had a raked concrete floor installed. The seats came from the old abandoned Paramount Theater. The upstairs became dressing rooms, makeup area, wardrobe and an area for set construction. The coal bin became the box office.

The Man Who Came to Dinner, with A.C.T. veteran Lloyd Symansky directing, was the first play in our current home. It opened our 1964-65 season and ran for eight nights. The runs were later extended to three weekends. Seating was expanded to 99 and later to the current 126.