The Shannon Stock Company

The Shannon Stock Company, also known as Shannon’s Famous Players, was a traveling theatre company based in Wapakoneta from 1913 until the Great Depression. Founded by Harry Shannon, the group included his wife Adelaide, their children, Harry Jr. and Hazel, and a company of twenty people or more. The Company performed in theatres in southern states during the winter and in a tent in Ohio, Indiana, and other Midwest states during the summer. When not performing, the Shannons prepared for the next tour while at home here in Wapakoneta. [continued on other side]

[Side B]: (continued from other side) Many Shannon Stock Company actors and crew members lived in this house with the Shannons, with rehearsals held in the back yard. For the tours, the cast learned different plays and performed them over five consecutive days in one town. Louise Miller, a former Shannon troupe member said, “We played simple plays. Our audience was nice, common people….And we never had anybody walk out on us.” Like vaudeville, touring theatre was popular entertainment for Americans that faded with the advent of motion pictures and radio.