By Joshua Robison / The Jambar
Since its founding 10 years ago, Millennial Theatre Company will make its permanent home on West Liberty Street in Girard at the building formerly known as Wellman Theater.
Joe Asente, founder and art director of MTC, said that he and MTC staff are looking forward to having a permanent home after operating as a traveling theatre company.
“We’re very excited about it. This is our 10th season this year, and we’ve existed the last 10 years as a traveling theatre organization performing at various venues around town,” Asente said. “As much as we’ve enjoyed partnering with other local theatre companies, the long-term goal has always been to establish a space of our own.”
The city purchased the building in 2022 with the intent to renovate the property but needed a tenant to justify the cost and to gain additional funding. When Asente first heard of the project, he reached out to the city with interest.
Asente said as a Girard resident, and active teacher with Girard City Schools, the establishment of MTC in Girard brings great community potential.
“I hope that everyone in the City of Girard sees the value in what we’re doing and really considers us to be their source for local entertainment,” Asente said. “I’m a life-long citizen of Girard. I love this city, I grew up here. … I believe that this city has really great potential.”
Astente said the renovations for the new theater are set to begin in summer 2027, and the completion is contingent on how much money the city can raise for the project. The city has already raised around $500,000 for the project, and MTC is seeking more funding opportunities.
While the project’s finances are still being solidified, Asente said he has made plans to make MTC’s home a community attraction with offerings for everyone.
“We don’t want to just solely do community theatre. We want to make sure that there are people in that building, enjoying that building for years to come with a variety of things,” Asente said. “We’d love to host local bands to perform there and do concerts … and we plan to show movies at the theater as well.”
With the new location, MTC will have greater freedom in scheduling its programs. Asente said he intends for MTC to offer more than entertainment when the new facility opens.
“Hopewell Theatre have very kindly donated the use of [it’s] space to us through these cooperative agreements over the last couple years,” Asente said. “At the end of the day, there are also [other] organizations that need to produce their programming. So, some of the things we hope to do differently in the new space would be things like educational workshops, theatrical masterclasses. We’d really like to start a youth program as well with our organization.”
