The History of Theatre in Kernersville

By Beth James

When thinking about the history of the town of Kernersville, who would think that it holds the distinction of being the home of the first privately owned theatre in America, as well as the birthplace of the “children’s little theatre” movement? But it is just that! Knowing that it all started in Körner’s Folly will probably explain a lot. And for a town of its size, Kernersville has a remarkable reputation for community theater.

The unique centerpiece of Kernersville, Körner’s Folly, was built in 1880. The children of Jule and Alice Körner loved the arts, partly due to their extensive travels, and this led to Alice hiring a music teacher for her children and their friends during the 1880s. From there grew an interest in other arts, eventually becoming “The Children’s Lyceum,” in which over forty children took classes, wrote and performed plays and music, and held recitals. This all took place on the top level of the Folly, where the orchestra pit is still to be found in the left corner of the space. Somewhere around 1897, that space became known as “Cupid’s Park,” known to be the first privately owned theatre in America. This is also considered the birthplace of Children’s Little Theatre, which became all the rage in the 1910s and 20s. While there was a time that Cupid’s Park was dormant, it has been used as a theatre for well over one hundred years.

Kernersville Little Theatre, started in the mid-late 1970s, had been in discussion by a small group of women within the community for some time. In 1977 their first show, “You Can’t Take It with You” was produced. In the almost fifty years since then, KLT has presented hundreds of shows to the area, currently producing a minimum of four per season. “The mission of Kernersville Little Theatre is to provide an avenue for development in all aspects of theatrical arts for all within the community and to provide entertainment for the community by offering a series of well-staged performances of live theater.” Beyond the four main stage shows, they have also participated in various activities in the area, such as the May weekend event Spring Folly, Christmas at the Folly, and providing volunteer (often costumed) actors and singers at other events.

There had been talk about starting a community theatre in Kernersville for some time prior to their first show. Three women – the “mothers of KLT” – brought it to fruition. These women, Becky Mohler, Joan Hope, and Joanie Biggs, began by looking for other theatre lovers to join this pursuit. It is important to note that one of the main strengths of most community theatre is its volunteers. These people are those who almost exclusively do the work they do in producing and performing for no pay, but because they have a passion and love for theatre and for their communities. That is certainly the case for the KLT founding mothers, who convinced friends and family to become involved, solicited locations for rehearsals, found plays to present, collected props, made costumes, acted, directed, and on and on to ensure that their shows were enjoyed by as many people as possible. That dedication continues to this day within KLT as well as the other Triad community theatres, with many volunteers and their families being involved for generations.

Krossroads Playhouse, the brainchild of Kernersville residents Katie Jo and Scott Icenhower, is striving to build a physical theatrical space that would act as an arts incubator and honor the dramatic legacy of Kernersville. They want to change the perception of Kernersville from a sleepy bedroom town to a vibrant living room community by bringing more arts and artists into the heart of the Triad. The Icenhower’s often point out that Kernersville is one of only two towns in North Carolina with populations over 25,000 that does not have a dedicated performance space. The property they have obtained for the future home of the “playhouse” on Cherry Street in downtown Kernersville will be the perfect location for such a place.

There have been multiple homes for theatrical performances in and around Kernersville for the last one hundred years. While most of KLT’s shows are performed in the Fitzpatrick Auditorium on the campus of Kernersville Elementary School, they have also performed outdoors at the Ciener Botanical Garden, Glenn High School, Bishop McGuinness School, and several other locations. Krossroads Playhouse’s first summer camp performed in the ballroom of the Ciener Botanical Garden. And of course, there have been multiple performances in Cupid’s Park in the Folly, as recently as 2015. The challenges of the space there – only reachable by multiple levels of narrow staircases – makes it inaccessible for today’s audiences.

When looking for an enjoyable evening out in the local area, be sure to look for the current shows in Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, or High Point. Almost every weekend there will be a show going on somewhere within a thirty-minute drive from Kernersville. But remember to always look first in our hometown Kernersville.