Box 656
Sun Valley, ID 83353
208.788.6520 (office)
208.578.9122 (box office)
208.788.1053 (fax)
Company of Fools (COF) is one of only three professional theatres in Idaho and is located in the mountain resort community of Sun Valley. Under the leadership of Artistic Director John Glenn, COF produces the work of today’s greatest playwrights, augmented by occasional productions of classics. COF’s
work is marked by an emphasis on the connection between theatre and community, a commitment to excellence in acting and design, and the signature intimacy of our theatrical home, the Liberty Theatre, which seats fewer than 245 patrons. The Company was founded in 1992 in Richmond, Virginia, as a response to an essay by the visual artist Cecil Collins entitled “The Vision of the Fool.” In Collins’ essay, the fool embodies truth, joy, creativity and a childlike wonder of all that is magical and mysterious. The response took the form of a question: "What would it be like to have an acting company that embodies the qualities of the fool?"
In November 1996, Company of Fools relocated to Hailey, Idaho. Twenty years later, COF has grown and evolved into an award-winning theatre that produces a full season of plays while providing substantial arts-in-education programming for the community. In November 2012, the Company merged with Sun Valley Center for the Arts (The Center), becoming part of a 45-year-old organization that is now the largest arts institution in Idaho. Complementing the Main Stage Series are the collaborative offerings of The Center’s BIG IDEA projects (two or three annually). For more than 15 years, The Center has focused on creating original programs and exhibitions that consider themes that are topical, immediate and artistically muscular. These multidisciplinary projects are designed to stimulate the imagination, promote conversation, provoke thought and engage the community. Beyond our work onstage, COF and The Center also provide dynamic arts-in-education programming targeted primarily to grades K-12. In addition, all of COF’s productions and programs are embedded with a highly tuned understanding of the unique community they serve. Twenty years later, COF grew and evolved into an award-winning theatre that produced a full season of plays while providing substantial arts-in-education programming for the community. In November 2012, the Company merged with Sun Valley Center for the Arts. In May 2021, Sun Valley Museum of Art and Company of Fools mutually agreed to become two independent arts organizations. After 7 years of joint programming following a merger in 2013, the theatre and the museum will once again become separate 501c3 organizations. Emerging from the pandemic with renewed energy and confirmation of the essential nature of the arts to this community, both organizations will focus on their core strengths—the theatre on producing and presenting world-class productions and the museum on its outstanding visual arts and education programs. In August 2020, a task force was formed that included a core group of local actors, members of Sun Valley Museum of Art’s board and a committed group of theatre patrons. Their job was to envision what the theatre company might look like as we emerge from the pandemic. The result of that extended conversation is a new company, formed by the next generation of COF artists, that honors the strong foundation of production laid by Company of Fools. After 7 years of joint programming following a merger in 2013, the theatre company and museum will once again become separate 501c3 organizations, with The Liberty Theatre Company (TLTC) carrying on the legacy of Company of Fools, with new leadership, and a new mission. TLTC has been under development since Scott Palmer’s departure as Artistic Director in August of 2020. To stay connected and follow along as they embark on this new journey, visit their website, www.libertytheatrecompany.org, connect on Facebook (The Liberty Theatre Company), or call 208-582-8388.
