Be Bold. Be Daring. Be Relevant. Maybe this is a phrase you would expect to hear from a cutting edge sports apparel line or from some new age inspirational Guru; but not from a small, local community theatre. But the Main Street Players is just that.

As they prepare to kick off their 2016 season, we sit down with Robert Coppel and Dennis Lyzniak, the Artistic Director and Playhouse Manager, respectively, and talk about how they got started in the theatre business as well as the impact theatre can have in our lives and our community and everything in between.

The Main Street Players Community Theatre is a hidden gem located in the quaint town of Miami Lakes. For as little as $25 per show, you can watch Pulitzer Prize winning plays for a fraction of the cost of the big, professional theatre’s while simultaneously supporting small business and up-and-coming actors. Their season opens with the award winning play, Water by the Spoonful, by Quiara Algería Hudes, directed by Robert Coppel and continues with Stage Kiss, Songs for a New World, and closes with another Pulitzer Prize winning play, Clybourne Park.

Affectionately coined (by us) the Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of the local theatre scene, Robert brings his love and passion of acting, directing and theatre to bring bold, daring and relevant plays to his audience. And Dennis, a.k.a. the Theatre god (lowercase g) brings his structural engineering background and years of business acumen to build the sets, handle the cash flow and so much more. The Main Street Players is most definitely a success because of this dynamic theatre duo, but also because of all the volunteers behind the scenes and on stage who are making theatre going accessible to the masses.

Their commitment to this challenging but cathartic art form is apparent when they speak and they live up to their motto: Be bold, be daring, be relevant.

We hope you enjoy the interview.See behind the scenes photos and show notes at www.plantedinmiami.com

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @plantedinmiami