Incorporated November 9, 1971, as the Repertory Theatre, at (CTS), the community theater operation presented its first full season of dramas and musicals in 1968-1969. During the celebration of its 20th anniversary in 1991-1992, the theatre was renamed to honor its founder, Dr. Alfred R. Edyvean. It was the only community theatre in the United States with a full season sponsored by a seminary.
Its predecessor was Seminary Players of the School of Religion of . They performed short religious plays in Sweeney Chapel and in midwestern churches. Another forerunner was original television drama produced in cooperation with the and local television stations, aided by a (LEI) grant.
The theatre program moved to Shelton Auditorium on the new CTS campus in 1966 and received a $70,000 grant from LEI to establish a repertory theatre for religious drama. The “theatre with a purpose” eventually developed a season of six full-length productions, with a concentration on “classics” by Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, Chekhov, and others. While early participants were students and community volunteers, the group developed into a community theatre with professional staff and was a member of the League of Professionally Managed Theatres. Outreach efforts included Jumping Mouse Players (for persons with disabilities), Matrix pre-and post-show discussions, and Epworth Forest Summer Theatre (for Methodist youth in northern Indiana).
In July 1998, CTS did not renew the Edyvean Theatre’s lease. The company moved to the campus where it produced plays for the next four years. In May 2002, the theater company’s last production was Rogers and Hammerstein’s . Besides losing its lease at CTS, Edyvean struggled financially and had juggled managing directors. Auditions for the Sound of Music began one month after its founder, Alfred R. Edyvean, died at age 86. The theatre closed soon afterward.
The Edyvean’s former home, the Shelton Auditorium, became part of when the university acquired the CTS campus in 2018. Shelton is part of the Butler’s Arts & Events Center and is still used as a theater and performance space.
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