Old Orchard Theatre

Old Orchard Theatre, created in 1998, is a fundraiser for the Green Bluff Grange scholarship program.

• Arts Entertainment
• Community Organization
• Arts & Entertainment

History
In 1998 the Green Bluff Grange came up with an idea to put on a play each year to raise money for their scholarship fund. The first play, a melodrama, was fairly well attended and the Grange Members thought they were really onto something.
Helen and Dick Laws were the founders of the little Community Theatre that would come to be known as Old Orchard Theatre, an appropriate name given that Dick and Helen ran an Apple Orchard.

“As a Grange, we committed to awarding a total of $400 in scholarships each year. We never guessed that with the help of Old Orchard Theatre we would award thousands of dollars each year!” said Pat Tompers, Grange Treasurer. In the first 10 years the Green Bluff Grange was able to award college scholarships totaling over $28,000!
Many volunteer hours go into each production. Auditions for the plays are held in June or July and the cast rehearse twice a week throughout the summer. Many Green Bluff Grange members have performed, but the auditions are open to the community and draw enthusiastic participants from all over the Inland Northwest. What started out as a fun idea has turned into a major part of the community. Each year audience member’s comment on what play from the past drew them to the Bluff and how they have attended ever since. Green Bluff is known for its family farms, so it makes for a perfect fall day to experience the farms, buy some fruit and then attend a family friendly play or musical.