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Text Box: About Playhouse South, Inc. Since it first opened its doors in 1960, Playhouse South has had several name changes. Kettering Community Theatre was founded by Jocelyn Feeman and its first home was in the basement of the Bar Jan Bowling Lanes on Kettering Boulevard. The first production was "Picnic", directed by Ken Hardin. Altogether five shows were presented in the bowling alley before the group relocated to a small building at the corner of Devon Avenue and Wilmington Pike in 1962. When the owner of that building sold it to be turned into a filling station, Dille's barn at 5700 Wilmington Avenue was obtained for the 1963 season. However, the $150 rental fee proved to be too steep, and within a year a fourth location was found, the loft quarters of the Ireland barn on Hempstead Road. In 1967, when the owner of the Ireland barn sold the property, the theatre group, now called K-O Community Theatre (for Kettering-Oakwood) set up temporary quarters in the Barnes Junior High School auditorium (currently the home of Kettering Theatre Under the Stars). A year later, a sixth move followed to a small, 65-seat building in Indian Riffle Park, where K-O stayed from 1968 to 1985. When the city of Kettering announced that they would be tearing down the building to put in a road, the group moved to Centerville, where for two seasons they performed in the undercroft of St. Leonard's Center Retirement community. In 1987, they found a home in the Washington Township Hall on Main Street. With this move, the group's name was changed to Playhouse South, more closely reflecting their goal of bringing quality live theatre performances to Dayton's south suburbs. Many seasons followed at that location, before their move in the summer of 1997 to Miamisburg in to the Historic Baum Opera House. After nine successful seasons at the Baum Opera House, in July 2006 they made yet another move to their present home in Kettering; the Kettering Board of Education Building, Clark Haines Theatre, the former home of Kettering Theatre Under The Stars. The Playhouse South organization is entirely volunteer, from actors to board members to front office personnel. Operating funds are obtained entirely from box office receipts and patron donations. Over the years, there has been a steady growth, as evidenced by bigger audiences, more volunteers, and a larger subscriber base.   Directions to PHS

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