In 1961, Robert E. Simon purchased 6,750 acres of land in
Fairfax County, VA, far from the rapidly developing suburbs of
Washington DC, with a master plan for a new planned community
to be called Reston. Simon’s concept was to create a community
based in part on the idea of providing Reston residents with
artistic and cultural experiences close to where they live and
work.
In the spring of 1966, three residents of neighboring Herndon
approached Simon to ask if residents of Reston might like to
perform their original musical, The Greatest Game in Town. The
plot was centered around adventures and misadventures in the
stock market and made a net profit of $200. Thus, the Reston
Players community theatre organization was born.
Over the years, the Reston Players occupied a number of
different performance venues and encountered a number of
challenges, including the 1972 fire at Bowman Chapel that
destroyed all of the Reston Players’ assets. Later that year, the
company reorganized itself as the non-profit Reston Community
Players (RCP).
In 1979, RCP mounted Applause, its first production in the brand
new state-of-the-art CenterStage at the Reston Community
Center in Hunters Woods and has been performing there ever
since.

In 1984, Lindsay Petersen, then Secretary of the RCP Board of
Directors, purchased a warehouse in Herndon that she leased
back to RCP for a nominal fee. The warehouse was converted
into a rehearsal hall, scene shop and office, and provided storage
for costumes, props, and set pieces. Upon her passing in 2002,
Mrs. Peterson transferred ownership of the property to RCP and it
remains our theatre company space to this day.
Reston Community Players celebrated our 50th Anniversary of
providing high-quality theatrical experiences to the Reston
community in 2016 with over 200 main stage productions. Despite
setbacks during the arrival of COVID-19, we continue to put on
quality shows to entertain different audiences. RCP looks forward
to enhancing the cultural environment of our community for many
years to come.

Link to past RCP shows:
https://www.abouttheartists.com/production_companies/671-
reston-community-players-reston-va