Don Weiss Collection, 1973-1980

Sacre Lane Summer Theatre was developed and directed by Dr. Donald (Don) Weiss, a humanities professor at Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University). Weiss began a children’s theater project that taught youths the basics of drama and staged regular performances at his home. Weiss and his wife Elizabeth made costumes, composed music, and printed playbills. After a few years, the performances moved to Monouth’s Main Street Park. The theatre project went by the names Sacre Lane Theater, Sacre Lane Players, and Commedia Del Arte and ended in 1979.

The Monmouth Independence Community Arts Association (MICAA) was founded in 1974 by a group of citizens who wished to promote the arts in the two communities. One of its main activities was to host the summer children’s theater program in conjunction with Sacre Lane and later on its own. In 1976 MICAA began the annual Fourth of July Arts Festival in Monmouth Main Street Park, which remains of the most popular events of the year. MICAA disbanded as an organization in 2013, at which time its papers were donated.