Organization

Unity Theatre was co-founded by sisters Teresa Beckers and Gretchen Jones in the spring of 1995. Incorporated as a non-profit organization on September 20, 1995, the company immediately began mounting productions to secure community interest and raise financial support.

A second season began with Beckers and Jones continuing their roles as artistic and managing directors, but now as full and part time paid staff. As audiences grew, additional performances were added. New programs were also created to satisfy the growing interest of the community; informal staged readings gave amateur actors more opportunity to perform, and the Unity Youth Program provided classes for younger audiences through a summer drama camp.

A third and fourth season brought still more new subscribers and an increase in the numbers of professional paid actors and designers.

By the spring of 1999, Unity Theatre had become a reputable regional theatre. The Board of Trustees responded to growth problems by approving a significant budget increase that provided salaries for additional contracted professional artists, and supported plans for adding more staff positions.

In its fifth season, LeRoy and Lucile Melcher bestowed Unity Theatre with a gift of one hundred thousand dollars. Such a generous donation inspired sizable contributions from other community members and served as a catalyst for growth and expansion. Unity Theatre continued to enlarge its staff with talented theatre professionals who were eager to trade city life for a country life in Brenham.