1973 - Founded as summer theater group

- Produced 3 shows at the Fresno Hilton Hotel. First show, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
- Formed by Dan Pessano and a group of Fresno State University students and alumni.

Summers in transit

- After 3 Hilton summers, GCP was at Memorial Auditorium in 1976 and the TowneHouse in '77.

GCP goes Full Time

- Roger Rocka, CBS affiliate news anchorman, retires and plans a dinner theater for Fresno - invites Dan Pessano to join him and provide theatrical entertainment all year round in his new restaurant.

Summer '78 - GCP opens at the Music Hall - first show, Gypsy

The start of Good Company Players Junior Company

- As part of the pre-show entertainment, youngsters in Gypsy and the upcoming Sound of Music per form a short singing and dancing cabaret. The Junior Company became a regular Music Hall feature.
- Since 1978, nearly 300 young people (aged 8 - 16) have performed with The Junior Company.
- As with GCP's shows, The Junior Company has open auditions three times a year. Kids from all over the Valley and with experience ranging from none to extensive, participate.

Production Schedule

- GCP produces well-known musicals & comedies at the Music Hall. Shows run 7 to 10 weeks, with performances Wednesday through Saturday and two shows on Sunday, 6 shows per year.

Good Company Players Second Space Theater

- Started in 1982, The Second Space is GCP's own theater, home to dramas, classics, comedies, originals and lesser known musicals. Shows play Thursday through Sunday, 6 shows per season, 52 weeks a year.

Community Involvement

- GCP offers training and workshops to its volunteer pool of performers and technicians, most of which are open to the community at large.
- For over 10 years, GCP has produced a school tour for Valley elementary schools, a 50 minute musical production by local authors and composers that GCP commissions. The tour shows tackle such themes as dealing with peer pressure, respect for others, and drug awareness.
- GCP performers form a casting pool for local agencies seeking to cast commercials.
- Scenery and costume shops work with community groups, particularly secondary school theater programs, to provide technical support.
- Good Company management and performers have been involved from the beginning with local charitable groups, donating services for UCP, Muscular Dystrophy, Valley Children's Hospital, and many more.
- GCP Managing Director Pessano and the Music Hall's Rocka are frequent speakers at club gatherings and EmCees for community fundraiser events like fashion shows, etc.

Volunteer Performs Grow Up

As The Junior Company "alums" have grown older, they have become an extraordinary part of GCP's "adult" company - former Juniors have played major roles in GCP productions of Evita, My One & Only, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line, Into the Woods, Oklahoma! and Sweeney Todd.

Volunteer Become Professionals

- Performers who have started at GCP (sometimes as young as 9 years old) are having extraordinary professional success as the years pass. One of GCP's 70's alumni is Bob Westenberg, a Tony-nominee whose Broadway credits include Sunday in the Park with George, The Secret Garden and Into the Woods.
- In 1993, GCP performers were represented on Broadway in Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, The Secret Garden and the revival of Carousel.
- Regional theaters in such cities as Seattle, Washington D.C., Dallas and San Francisco have showcased the work of former Company members who decided to turn pro.
- GCP 'alums' also include successful choreographers, theater managers, box office auditors and teachers.
- And we feel that the volunteers who continue to live and work in Fresno and use GCP as a creative outlet benefit, too, from "professional" standards GCP sets as part of its training commitment.