The Pennyless Players are a non-profit, non-professional, English-language theatre group. Originally founded by students to bring practical theatre experience to the English and American Studies Department of the University of Graz, the group rapidly expanded both its membership (currently about 30-40 active members) and its audience to the broader Graz community.
Since our foundation in 2007, we have usually performed 1-2 full-length plays per year, and since 2017 we’ve added a focus on improvisational theatre. We’ve participated in numerous events with improv performances, short plays, scenic readings, etc., and have offered acting and improv workshops.
We are an open community that welcomes all those with enthusiasm for theatre regardless of age, gender identity, race, religion, national origin, or talent. As our irreverent slogan (given cheeky permanence on the chair we donated to the Alumni Lecture Hall) puts it, “The Pennyless Players Do It On Stage”. More seriously, what we do is provide a platform for people’s creativity and a safe and friendly space to try out everything theatre-related.
We are a family – in the Pennyless Players, people from all sorts of backgrounds meet, learn to work with each other, make new friends, and sometimes even put their foot on the first stepping-stone for a career in theatre.
Together, we provide each other with the creative inspiration, education, and support necessary for good theatre; this allows us to provide the community with fabulous English-language entertainment at reasonable student-friendly prices; this, in turn, allows us to provide our favourite causes with financial support by donating all of our proceeds to charity.
Our current Organisational Team (in alphabetical order)
- Benjamin – Actor, Hauler of Animate and Inanimate Theatrical Matter, Organisational Wizard and Acolyte of Arcane Accounting (aka Treasurer)
- Jules – Actor, Vereinsvorstand, Short Baker of Shortbread, Puny Maker of Puns, Verbose Sonneteer of Verse
- Lucy (Oonagh) – Actor, Improvisor, Happy Backstage Helper, and Last-Performance Prankster
- Nici – backstage daredevil, daydreamer, scientific fact-checker, writer, actor and stage manager with larger-than-life visions
You can contact us all via thepennylessplayers@gmail.com!
We would also like to mention one of our founding members who to this day organises the Script Tease events: Cecilia Servatius, a Fairy Godmother, Pronunciation Coach, and Script Teaser, who has poured a lot of hard work and passion into this group and stayed with it throughout the years. Thank you for what you’ve done and are doing.
We can also only express nothing but our sincere gratitude to everyone who worked in an organisational capacity for the Pennyless Players throughout our many years of existence; without the monumental efforts of those whom the audience never sees, none of the magic of theatre would be possible. There are no words to adequately express all the blood, sweat, tears, creativity, heartbreak, and sacrifice involved. We owe you our existence. THANK YOU!
The Pennyless Players 