Our History

Gibson Southern Theatre

Founded in 1974 by Mrs. Kathy Parks from Haubstadt, IN, Gibson Southern Theatre has grown to be an integral part of Gibson Southern and the surrounding communities. After producing their first production, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Vaudeville debuted the 1975-76 theatre season as a way to raise funds for the spring production. The annual production has grown to be the single largest extracurricular activity of Gibson Southern and a community favorite each fall. Nearly one in four students participate in the Vaudeville production in some way each year.

Each fall, our International Thespian Society also competes in one of the Indiana Regional Conferences with a forty-five minute cutting of a play.  Gibson Southern Theatre’s I.T.S. Chapter was rated best in the state in 2005 with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and 2008 with Between Daylight in Boonville.  We also had the honor of representing Indiana in 2008 and 2013 by performing at the national level by attending the International Thespian Festival hosted by the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Each March the Gibson Southern Theatre showcases the best of the department’s talent with their spring musical. With nearly one hundred students participating each year, the production is truly something to make the community proud.

Beginning January 2012, a new tradition was born to close each season.  Gibson Southern Theatre presented it’s first Young Playwrights Project.  Four students each wrote and directed their own thirty-minute play.  The Young Playwrights Project‘s mission is to facilitate the use of playwriting, encourage creative expression and improve literacy, and to support its writers through student driven acting, directing, and designing culminating in public performances.

Director: Adam Bledsoe (2013 – Present)

  • Season 50: 2023-2024
    • Vaudeville 2023: Hee Haw
    • Mamma Mia
    • Young Playwrights Project 2024
  • Season 49: 2022-2023
    • Vaudeville 2022: Vaudeville Tonight
    • Big Fish
    • Young Playwrights Project 2023
  • Season 48: 2021-2022
    • Vaudeville 2021: Vaudevillains
    • Disney’s The Little Mermaid
    • Young Playwrights Project 2022
  • Season 47: 2020-2021
    • Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
  • Season 46:2019-2020
    • Vaudeville 2019: It’s a Good Vaudeville, Charlie Brown
    • The 39 Steps: A Live Radio Play (ITS Competition)
    • Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical (Cancelled due to Covid-19)
    • Young Playwrights Project 2020 (Cancelled due to Covid-19)
  • Season 45:2018-2019
    • Vaudeville 2018: Under the Big Top
    • 21 Chump Street (ITS Competition)
    • Disney’s Newsies
    • Young Playwrights Project 2019
  • Season 44:2017-2018
    • Vaudeville 2017: Muppets Take Over
    • 12 Angry Jurors (ITS Competition)
    • Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella
    • Young Playwrights Project 2018
  • Season 43:2016-2017
    • Vaudeville 2016: Deck the Halls
    • The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet (ITS Competition)
    • Sister Act
    • Young Playwrights Project 2017
  • Season 42:2015-2016
    • Vaudeville 2015: Haunted Hotel
    • Elephant’s Graveyard (ITS Competition)
    • Shrek the Musical
    • Young Playwrights Project 2016
  • Season 41:2014-2015
    • Vaudeville 2014: The Academy Presents
    • The Actuality of Henrik (ITS Competition)
    • Mary Poppins
    • Young Playwrights Project 2015
  • Season 40:2013-2014
    • Vaudeville 2013: Lost in London
    • The Marriage of Bette & Boo (ITS Competition)
    • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
    • Young Playwrights Project 2014

Director: Matt Hart (1996 -2013)

  • Season 39:2012-2013
    • Vaudeville 2012: GSTD Live
    • Legally Blonde: The Musical (ITS Competition)
    • Young Playwrights Project 2013
    • The Phantom of the Opera
  • Season 38:2011-2012
    • Vaudeville 2011: Back to the Future
    • Dracula (ITS Competition)
    • Young Playwrights Project 2012
    • Legally Blonde: The Musical
  • Season 37:2010-2011
    • Vaudeville 2010: The Roadhouse
    • The Diary of Anne Frank (ITS Competition)
    • Footloose
  • Season 36:2009-2010
    • Vaudeville 2009: Under the Sea
    • Almost, Maine (ITS Competition)
    • Beauty & the Beast
  • Season 35:2008-2009
    • Vaudeville 2008: Greatest Hits
    • Between Daylight & Boonville (ITS Competition)
    • West Side Story
  • Season 34:2007-2008
    • Vaudeville 2007: Cirque
    • Harvey (ITS Competition)
    • Wizard of Oz
  • Season 33:2006-2007
    • Vaudeville 2006: Roadtrip
    • The Uninvited (ITS Competition)
    • Les Miserables
  • Season 32:2005-2006
    • Vaudeville 2005: Haunted Carnival
    • Mouse that Roared (ITS Competition)
    • Jekyll & Hyde
  • Season 31:2004-2005
    • Vaudeville 2004: Vaudeville in Chicago
    • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (ITS Competition)
    • Seussical
  • Season 30:2003-2004
    • Vaudeville 2003: Wish You Were Here
    • The Odd Couple (ITS Competition)
    • Grease
  • Season 29:2002-2003
    • Vaudeville 2002: True Colors
    • Steel Magnolias (ITS Competition)
    • Cinderella
  • Season 28:2001-2002
    • Vaudeville 2001: USS Titan
    • Fame
  • Season 27:2000-2001
    • Vaudeville 2000: Vaudeville 25
    • Footloose
  • Season 26:1999-2000
    • Vaudeville 1999: 525,600 Minutes
    • Clue
  • Season 25:1998-1999
    • Vaudeville 1998: Titan Choice Awards
    • Charlotte’s Web
  • Season 24:1997-1998
    • Vaudeville 1997: The Way We Were
    • Dark & Stormy Night
  • Season 23:1996-1997
    • Vaudeville 1996: Puttin’ on the Ritz
    • Into the Woods

Director: Holly Hathaway (1992 – 1996)

  • Season 22:1995-1996
    • Vaudeville 1995: The Colors of My Life
    • Barnum
  • Season 21:1994-1995
    • Vaudeville 1994: Magic to Do
  • Season 20:1993-1994
    • Vaudeville 1993: Music of the Night
    • Once Upon a Mattress
  • Season 19:1992-1993
    • Vaudeville 1992

Director: Lori Humphrey (1989 – 1992)

  • Season 18:1991-1992
    • Vaudeville 1991
    • Bye-Bye Birdie
  • Season 17:1990-1991
    • Vaudeville 1990
    • Up the Down Staircase
  • Season 16:1989-1990
    • Vaudeville 1989
    • Snoopy! The Musical

Director: Anne Muehlbaurer (1988 – 1989)

  • Season 15:1988-1989
    • Robber Bridegroom

Director: Kathy Parks (1974 – 1988)

  • Season 15: 1988-1989
    • Vaudeville 1988
  • Season 14:1987-1988
    • Vaudeville 1987
    • The Wizard of Oz
  • Season 13:1986-1987
    • Vaudeville 1986
    • Babes in Arms
  • Season 12:1985-1986
    • Vaudeville 1985
    • Anything Goes
  • Season 11:1984-1985
    • Vaudeville 1984
    • George M!
  • Season 10:1983-1984
    • Vaudeville 1983
    • South Pacific
  • Season 9: 1982-1983
    • Vaudeville 1982
    • Oklahoma!
  • Season 8: 1981-1982
    • Vaudeville 1981
    • Once Upon a Mattress
  • Season 7: 1980-1981
    • Vaudeville 1980
    • The Sound of Music
  • Season 6: 1979-1980
    • Vaudeville 1979
    • Music Man
  • Season 5: 1978-1979
    • Vaudeville 1978
  • Season 4: 1977-1978
    • Vaudeville 1977
    • The Mouse that Roared
  • Season 3: 1976-1977
    • Vaudeville 1976: Christmas for Everyone
    • Labyrinth of Love
  • Season 2: 1975-1976
    • Vaudeville 1975
    • Bits of Broadway
  • Season 1: 1974-1975
    • You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown