From a high, stained-glass dome, three painted angels looked down on a stage draped with white linen, where actors in colorful costumes were performing Macbeth.
The chapel of the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church, which for a century has been filled with the sounds of prayer, was reverberating for the first time with the words of Shakespeare.
The performance on Saturday night was one of the first for the newly formed, nonprofit Curio Theatre Company, which is currently working to transform the historic church at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue into a theater space and the adjoining rectory into a theater school.
"We are dedicated to taking the spirit of classics and making them come alive for the modern time," Curio co-Artistic Director Jared Reed said.
The company, whose five young members met at the Hedgerow Theatre in Media, Pa., toured around the state for a number of years before settling down at the Calvary Church in 2004.
Curio's move to University City followed a dialogue with a neighborhood group called the Calvary Center for Culture and Community, which was looking to restore the church building and transform it into a cultural and community activity hub.
The church had fallen into severe disrepair by the 1990s, after demographic shifts in the neighborhood caused a major drop-off in church membership. In 1994, the congregation began to sell its Tiffany stained-glass windows. In response, community members formed the CCCC in 2001 to reinvigorate the church.
They found an enthusiastic partner in the Curio Company.
The two groups are now working to restore the church sanctuary, which has not been used in 25 years, and to raise $1 million for the completion of renovations. Until the sanctuary is functional, the Curio Company will perform in the smaller chapel, which still houses four small congregations for worship.
Macbeth, which will run for the last time this weekend, will be followed by adaptations of The Frog Prince, The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy and The King Stag.
Curio Company co-founder Paul Kuhn said that the company is distinctive because of its emphasis on storytelling and its broad definition of "classic."
"For us, a classic is something that makes a strong imprint and leaves a legacy in the minds of people," he said. "We ask how we can make something presentable for the stage even if it's not a written play."
Kuhn added that Curio performances are characterized by a small number of actors playing a large number of roles.
"I play five characters in Macbeth, and I get the sense that I am as much a part of it as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth," he said. "I'm back there rapidly changing masks."
Starting Oct. 1, the theater school that the company is opening in the church rectory will offer classes -- open to all ages -- including classical acting, comedy improvisation and even stage fighting.
"We want to teach people about human interaction and how to understand people other than yourself, which is essentially what theater is," Reed said. "For those people who want to pursue [acting] professionally, we are giving them the firm foundations in which to do it."
The Curio Company also hopes to continue its partnerships with West Philadelphia elementary schools this year, an endeavor largely funded by the Penn Graduate School of Education and Center for Community Partnerships.
Lucy Kerman, who works in the University president's office to facilitate the University's West Philadelphia outreach, said she was impressed that a company as young and strapped for cash as Curio would make education such a high priority.
"Before they even had a stage, they were reaching out to local schools," Kerman said.
