What Is the Mission of St. Thomas Playhouse and How Does It Serve the Community?

St. Thomas Playhouse (STP) is a community theater organization in Sun Valley, Idaho, founded on the belief that the performing arts can serve a higher purpose: educating people and transforming lives while providing entertainment. It operates as an outreach ministry of St. Thomas Episcopal Church and serves the Wood River Valley community through plays, musicals, readings, and summer camp programs. If you are deciding whether to attend, volunteer, enroll a child, or support the organization, the mission and structure below are the relevant facts.

The Mission, Stated Plainly

STP describes its purpose in three connected parts:

• Education and transformation through performance. The arts are treated as a means of educating participants and audiences, not only entertaining them.
• Spiritual enrichment. Plays, musicals, readings, and camps are chosen and presented to enrich the spiritual lives of both participants and audience members.
• Relationship building. Productions celebrate the human experience, build relationships, and explore theological and real-life themes.

Theater arts education for children and youth is called out as a fundamental component of the mission, so youth programming is not a side activity—it is central to what the organization exists to do.

How It Serves the Community

A track record rooted in local talent

STP began in 2001, when St. Thomas Church shared its first theatrical production with the Wood River Valley. That production ran five sold-out performances and engaged 125 local performing artists and volunteers. The response led to the formation of St. Thomas Playhouse as a standing organization. This origin story explains the model STP still follows: community members on stage and behind the scenes, with the church as host and sponsor.

Programs that reach different ages and seasons

The organization presents plays, musicals, readings, and summer camp programs. Its current listings point to two named youth tracks—Company B and SPACC—with information pages offered in both English and Spanish, plus a summer-and-fall invitation to join. For families, this means programming is organized by group and season rather than as a single generic camp.

Access support

STP publishes a Tuition Assistance Form and a Sarah Adicoff Scholarship, both listed alongside the program information. Families who are interested but concerned about cost have a stated path to ask for help; the forms are the place to start rather than assuming a program is out of reach.

Open doors to a changing community

STP frames its work as opening doors and creating lasting bonds with a growing and changing community. The bilingual program pages and forms are a concrete expression of that goal.

Who Runs It

STP is led by a dedicated Charter Committee and is an outreach ministry of St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

The Charter Committee also includes Leigh Barer, Lexi Black, Michael Cohen, Cat Downs, Liz Hickey, Robin Leavitt, Megan McCann, Carrie Neville, Margot Ramsay, Wyatt Root, Mardi Shepard, and Sarita Valenti. Church staff listed on the site include Rector The Very Rev. Jonah Kendall, Associate Rector The Rev. Kathleen Bean, Music Director Joel Bejot, and Parish Administrator Stefanie Nelson.

Location and Contact

• Address: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 201 Sun Valley Rd., Sun Valley, ID 83353
• Phone: (208) 726-5349
• Email: use the director addresses above; the Artistic Director is the natural first contact for program and artistic questions, and the Finance and Development Director for giving and financial matters.

Is It Worth Your Attention?

The answer depends on what you are looking for:

• If you want local, participatory theater where community members perform and volunteer, STP's model and history match that expectation.
• If you are seeking youth arts education, the mission explicitly prioritizes it, and the Company B and SPACC tracks plus tuition assistance and the Sarah Adicoff Scholarship are the concrete entry points.
• If you want to support a community organization, the Finance and Development Director and the Charter Committee are the named contacts, and the church relationship means the organization is accountable within a longstanding local institution.
• If interfaith or secular programming is a priority for you, note that STP is an outreach ministry of an Episcopal church and describes exploring theological themes as part of its mission—worth knowing before you enroll or attend.

For current program dates, tuition figures, and application deadlines, contact the Artistic Director or check the program pages directly; those details are not fixed on the organization's overview page.