George Daily Community Auditorium

The Mainstage

World Fest: Okra Playground in September 2022.
The mainstage is roughly 50 feet wide and 30 feet deep and is the most frequently used space in the Auditorium. The 18-foot-tall proscenium opening serves as a window into the performance’s world. If we removed the wooden panels at the front of the stage, you’d see a large orchestra pit beneath the apron, which is the curved, frontmost area.
 

Directly above the apron is a retractable projection screen for presentations. Stepping back into the stage opening, look up and see the hanging battens filled with curtains, lights, and special effects curtains. 

Over the years, the auditorium’s stage has had several different looks. Initially, the entire stage was finished in wood, but general wear replaced the original floor with a more durable black masonite stage floor. 

In addition to the Professional Touring Seasons hosted by the Auditorium, George Daily Youth Theatre camps and showcases happen there, as do middle and high school drama performances. You’ll also see band, choir, and orchestra concerts, award ceremonies, assemblies, and teacher in-service days from the Oskaloosa Community School District.

The stage also serves as a classroom for William Penn University’s technical theatre and acting courses and a performance space for the concert band and Drama department.
 
Local dance companies regularly rent the space for their recitals, and companies rent the stage for professional development days. Community collaborations with Oskaloosa Community Theatre, like George and Home Again, have also been known to grace the stage.

The Black Box

The Auditorium was designed with two unique performance spaces. The Mainstage is where most of the events occur, and the Black Box Theatre is behind the stage. This space is used for classes, small productions, tech construction, and storage.

The Black Box has the same dimensions as the mainstage playing space, and a show can be designed, constructed, and rehearsed in the Black Box before being moved onto the Mainstage for the public event.

Side-by-side of the Mainstage and Black Box. Spaces are holding 3 simultaneous productions from the Youth Theatre and William Penn University.
William Penn University production of "Be Here Now" in April 2024.

Woodhaven Community Amphitheater

Phase I

In June 2020, just a few months into the COVID-19 global pandemic, George Daily Auditorium staff and board members trekked out to an overgrown amphitheater structure on the former campus of Vennard College. 

There was plenty of community interest in the site, and everyone involved agreed that engaging with people through the arts was important, even though most indoor venues were shuttered. However, at the time, no funds were available to complete a project of this scope.

Then, in November 2020, the George Daily Community Auditorium was one of 60 arts and culture organizations across a 9-state region selected for a substantial COVID-19 recovery grant from Arts Midwest. Proposals were evaluated on:

  • Exceptional artistic, cultural, and community impact
  • Visionary leadership (staff and volunteer)
  • Demonstrated community engagement, connection, and support
  • Commitment to equity and inclusion
  • Track record of stability in fiscal management and ongoing operations
  • Local state, regional, and/or national impact

The United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund was intended to help arts venues address pressing needs and opportunities, from response activities to investments that would build sustainability. 

Phase II

“My name is Taylor Drost, and I am a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 71 in Oskaloosa. I am currently working on my Eagle Scout project with the intention of achieving rank advancement to Eagle Scout by July 2022

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Taylor’s Eagle Scout Project raised over $24,000 and collected multiple community partners to bring bench seating to the Amphitheater. His project also regarded the seating slope, reseeded the grass at the site, and graveled and woodchipped the audience walking areas. It was a truly remarkable project that will benefit the community for years.

Phase III

Mahaska County’s Golden Goose Club funded $17,000 for the next phase of the Amphitheater. So far, it has been focused on acquiring stage lighting. The money will also be used to improve the bathroom facilities at the site. The GDCA Staff expect to complete phase three by the end of Summer 2025.