Irene Belcher theater collection

Irene Belcher was born in Muncie, the daughter of Joseph and Lola Howell Thompson. She attended Jefferson School and graduated from Muncie High School and the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division, (now Ball State University) in 1923. Mrs. Belcher taught at Lincoln School before marrying Aaron (Doug) Belcher in 1924. Mr. Belcher taught school and worked at Ontario as a foreman. He eventually joined the Muncie Fire Dept., serving as chief for several years. The Belchers had two daughters, Judy and Martha (Mollie).

Always interested in theatre, Irene Belcher played summer stock roles with the Princeton Players in Princeton, New Jersey, along with such stage notables as Tallulah Bankhead, Humphrey Bogart, Helen Hayes and others. She was also a charter member of Muncie Civic Theatre and very active in the organization, as actress, producer, membership volunteer and also president of the group. It was during her term as president that Muncie Civic Theatre moved from its former headquarters in the Masonic Temple to its present address, 216 E. Main St., the site of two former movie theatres, the Star and the Hoosier.

Irene Belcher operated an educational theatre program for school age children locally for thirty years. She opened her first children’s studio in the 1930s, across from the old City Hall building, on the southwest corner of Jackson and Jefferson. From there she moved to the third floor of the Chamber of Commerce building, on the corner of Jefferson and Main St., where she had the entire top floor. Mrs. Belcher was also active in children’s theatre groups nationally, being one of the original twenty members who formed the National Children’s Theatre Conference in 1944. She served several times as advisor for children’s theatres throughout the country.

Other organizations in which she was active included Muncie Matinee Musicale, for which she served one year as president. She directed, produced and acted in plays given by the High Street Players and served as director and producer of the community Easter Pageant from 1950-1960. Mrs. Belcher also acted in and directed productions of Little Shoestring Theatre, the summer theatre tent shows given on the Ball State campus by its Theatre Department.

In the early 1960s, she and her husband, along with Ruth Ball Harker and her son, Walter, operated a booking agency, bringing productions to Muncie, such as the San Francisco Ballet.

Irene Belcher died November 29, 1984, at the age of 82.