{"id":4554,"date":"2026-06-08T18:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenaweevoice.com\/?p=4554"},"modified":"2026-09-05T13:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:53:31","slug":"tecumseh-players-to-stage-one-act-wednesdays-in-adams-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenaweevoice.com\/staging\/7542\/2026\/06\/08\/tecumseh-players-to-stage-one-act-wednesdays-in-adams-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Tecumseh Players to stage One-Act Wednesdays in Adams Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Cast
Cast members in the Tecumseh Players\u2019 upcoming performance of \u201cHead Elf\u201d rehearse the show recently at the Tecumseh Presbyterian Church. Seated on the edge of the stage, left to right: Thomas Buxton, Annabelle Rhodes, and Charlotte Buxton. Behind them, left to right: Derrell Kent, Mary Ann Stock, Nick Hoffman, director Sarah Buxton, Brandi Williams, Josh Smith, Niki Easter, Hannah Wiles, and Henry Buxton. (Photo by Arlene Bachanov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

TECUMSEH \u00ad\u2014 Back in October 1960, a group of amateur performers from in and around Tecumseh who called themselves the Guild of Tecumseh Players got together to stage a single performance of the play \u201cCharley\u2019s Aunt\u201d at what was then the Strand Theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost 66 years later, the Tecumseh Players<\/a>, as the troupe is now called, continue to draw people living in and around Lenawee County who love theater and enjoy being onstage \u2014 and, in the process, have formed a community of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou get to go and goof around with your friends, you get to do make-believe and make people laugh,\u201d said Josh Smith, the Tecumseh Players\u2019 current board president. The longtime actor and director has been part of the group since 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously, we all have a love of theater, but this gives us a way to get together and meet new people,\u201d added Nona Bennett, who\u2019s been with the Players for some 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Players are producing a series of three short one-act comedies this summer, beginning with Kenneth R. Preuss\u2019s play \u201cThe Most Viewed Least Watched Talk Show in History\u201d on Wednesday, June 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other two shows in the series are A.M. Dittman\u2019s \u201cHead Elf\u201d on Wednesday, July 15 and \u201cThe Bremen Town Musicians\u201d \u2014 an adaptation by Jon Krueger which includes original music by Tecumseh\u2019s own Benjamin J. Nichols \u2014 on Wednesday, Aug. 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All plays in the One Act Wednesday Summer Series take place beginning at 7 p.m. at Adams Park, 309 E. Chicago Blvd., Tecumseh. The performances are free. Patrons are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bremen Town Musicians\u201d was previously staged by the Players as part of their summer series in 2023, while the other plays are new to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Players choose their one-acts through a communal process of reading through different scripts to see which ones stand out. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to find good 30 to 45-minute one-acts,\u201d Bennett said, \u201cbut we read [several] and if everybody laughed, it was a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series is the beginning of what the Players hope is a return to a full-fledged program after the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on their efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did a couple of shows here and there after COVID, but not near what we used to do,\u201d said Sarah Buxton, who has been with the troupe since 2024 and serves as its media outreach coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith said the group has a number of ideas for the immediate future. \u201cWe really want to reinvigorate the program,\u201d he said. Among those ideas are a possible return to doing a dinner theater show and looking at different small venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thinking of other ways to bolster what the Tecumseh Players can offer,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to get out in the community so people know we\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buxton said their goal is to get back to their former schedule of doing a couple of productions a year plus what they call \u201cReader\u2019s Theater,\u201d in which a cast sits around a table and does an informal play reading with an audience present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Players welcome involvement from new participants, whether on the acting side or as tech people. And \u201cwe love doing original works, so if a writer is out there \u2026\u201d Bennett said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReader\u2019s Theater would love to do the first read-through of someone\u2019s play. That would be really awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone interested in becoming part of the Tecumseh Players can email the troupe through its website, tecumsehplayers.org. More information on the group, including details of any upcoming auditions, can be found on its Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One-Act Wednesdays shows and dates:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n