The Franklin Stage Company: A Regional Treasure

Summer 2004. Nancy, my future wife, and I, accompanied by two friends, were late. On our initial visit to the Franklin Stage Company (FSC), we scurried from the car. As we approached Chapel Hall, home to the FSC, four people. unknown to us, urgently called out from atop the front porch entrance. We rushed up the stairs, navigated the lobby, and followed our enigmatic guides through a door that opened to a large room filled by people sitting in a semi-circle. Suddenly, our greeters seized open middle ground with intense words and actions, seemingly oblivious to spectators. We had entered an emotionally immersive world. 

Tucked away on 25 Institute St in the bucolic Delaware County village of Franklin, home to less than 300 people, the FSC is a regional treasure. Established in 1997 by husband-and-wife creatives Eugene Marner and Carole Lucia Satrina with the assistance of then Franklin Mayor Thomas Butts, the FSC is currently celebrating its 30th season. Given its hinterlands location, admission-free policy, funding challenges, nonprofit status, and the legacy of Covid, survival for 30 memorable seasons—and counting—is a remarkable achievement. 

From 2006-2016, Carmela Marner, daughter of the founders, presided as Artistic Director, sharing title and responsibilities with David Bridel for her first four years at the helm.  From 2017-2022, Leslie Noble and Patricia Buckley led the FSC. In 2023, Buckley took on the daunting role of Executive Artistic Director.

Although the FSC is a summer theater, the work of the Executive Artistic Director is year-round, including supervising care of historic Chapel Hall, a beautiful, commodious Greek Revival structure built in 1855 as part of the Delaware Literary Institute, a  private preparatory school and subsequently the property of Free and Accepted Masons, who after a long run graciously granted it to the FSC. With three stories, Chapel Hall, in addition to its first-floor lobby, rest rooms, and theater, domiciles dressing rooms, costume shop, furniture and prop storage, washer and dryer, kitchen, rehearsal area, and other niche space as well as the old Masonic Temple. And at the Railroad Museum on Franklin’s Main Street, the FSC rents an office and food pantry.  

Owner of a small house in Franklin, Buckley maintains a Manhattan apartment for the FSC off-season. Her New York City theater, film, and television engagements co-exist with FSC grant writing and other fundraising initiatives, planning the next summer’s program, cast recruitment involving Actor Equity contract compliance and auditions, and finding places to rent for actors. 

A native of Troy, New York, Buckley studied at Le Moyne College before earning a degree at SUNY Albany. Her passion for acting and directing set her on a peripatetic journey through the US and Europe. Ultimately, NYC became home base as she built an impressive acting and directing resume. An aficionado of regional theater, Buckley enlisted in a FSC production, caught the bug, and the rest is history. 

Preceding productions, Burkley’s trademark stage introduction provides a warm welcome. While noting that admission is free and that it is ok that some attendees may not be able to contribute, Buckley suggests that a donation of $25 from those so inclined and able will be welcome by the performers who will stand by the exits at the play’s conclusion—and wittily adds that no contribution is ever considered too large.  

There is an intimacy to the FSC, fostering synergism between players and audience. With a seating capacity of 120, now organized by rows, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. Along with theater lovers from the towns and villages of Central New York, tourists and second homers find their way to the FSC. 

Genre emphasis has evolved at the FSC over three decades from traditional classics to overlooked gems to modern masterpieces. The FSC also hosts debut performances of new plays. Information about upcoming performances, season calendar, reservations, and directions is available at the FSC website https://franklinstagecompany.org/ 

Over the past three decades, the FSC stage has hosted so many indelible moments. And a powerhouse lineup beckons in 2026. On July 3rd, Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare’s iconic romantic comedy, leads off the performance season. Other summer fare includes Hend Ayoub’s solo production HOME? A Palestinian Woman’s Search for Life, Liberty and Happiness; performances by the Dual Rivet Dance Company; and, the debut of a Kyle Bass’ original, The Civilities, a deep drill into race, history, and identity, closes the season in mid-September.   

When the house darkens and the production beckons, look to the back of the theater where, unless she is in the cast, Patricia Buckley watches the opening like a proud parent anticipating the birth of a child. The words of her predecessor, Carmela Marner, still ring true: “We choose to present this work because we believe that such plays most effectively confront and exalt the breadth of shared human experience.”