Dear patrons, volunteers, and supporters of Chapel Street Players:
When the University Drama Group moved to 27 N. Chapel St. and became known as the Chapel Street Players in 1968, the geography of Newark and its demographics were quite different. Over 50 years later, all of you know the reality now: the trials and tribulations of trying to find parking near the theater, navigating Main Street traffic during the times of our performances, and the occasional disrupting noise of a nearby house party. To that end, the Board has spent the last ten years looking for opportunities to relocate the theater to a more accessible location with easy free parking and a more patron-friendly environment.
We are pleased to announce that CSP and Lang Development have been in lengthy negotiations for the last year to improve the City of Newark and keep live theater arts thriving in our community. The plan/proposal was delivered to the City on Thursday, November 5th, and should be available to review on the City of Newark website shortly: https://newarkde.gov/1035/Development-Plan-Proposals
In a nutshell, if the City approves the proposal, Chapel Street Players would relocate to a brand new theater facility, built by Lang Development, just north of our current location. The new theater (with free parking right out front!) would be located off of Papermill Road. along White Clay Creek (for those of you who know Newark, we would be further back from Timothy’s Restaurant). We would still be in the city limits to maintain our status as “Newark’s Official Community Theatre,” and did I mention, there would be free parking right at the theater!?
In exchange, our current property would be turned into an aesthetically pleasing modern apartment building akin to those now seen on South Chapel St., Cleveland Ave., and other locations. These apartment style buildings help support UD housing but do not offer “backyard party space” that, alas, has sullied not only your recent visits to CSP, but the overall “downtown” experience as well.
For those of you who are actual residents of the City of Newark, and thus have a say in decision making, we ask you to support this current proposal on the docket, as it truly will help secure the future success of the Chapel Street Players. For those of you outside of the City limits, we hope you, too, are excited about this proposal and look forward to a bright and prosperous future for all concerned!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel to contact us.
Sincerely, and on behalf of the Board of Chapel Street Players,
Scott Mason
President of CSP
