The Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a film about the company’s history.
Bloom Where You’re Planted: A Twenty Year Artistic Journey showcases the Kitchen Theatre Company’s history of performing plays and musicals in the area, through photos, videos, and conversations with those who thought of the Kitchen Theatre as a second home.
The film was made by Artistic Director Rachel Lampert and former Associate Producing Director Lesley Greene.
Throughout the film, Lampert reminisces over her 20 years at the Kitchen Theatre. She said the film shows the journey of the Kitchen Theatre from her perspective.
"And I think it gives a good sense of how we went from scrappy to a little less scrappy," Lampert said. "We went from this repurposed dining room of a hotel to a fully equipped theater, and that was a major shift for us."
When talking to previous staff, actors and directors, Lampert said that many of the artists consider the Kitchen Theatre Company as the middle step to achieving artistic goals.
"Some outgrow us and go onto other things," Lampert said. "A lot of people commented on how they've found an artistic home for a while at the Kitchen. Hearing that from so many people, including playwrights, means a lot."
Lesley Greene said community was always a big part of theater and that the “company” in Kitchen Theatre Company represents that.
“The film, I think, captures that sense of belonging when you come into the theater," Greene said. "I don't want to get too esoteric about this but it is definitely a place where you come for community.”
Bloom Where You’re Planted: A Twenty Year Artistic Journey will be shown on August 8 at the Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca.