Every year, Neighborhood House serves over 50 artists and ensembles through subsidized performance and rehearsal rentals.
Neighborhood House is a performance venue and a catalyst for the arts on the historic Christ Church campus. We support artists through subsidized performance/rehearsal rentals in our namesake building, and we commission new site-specific works informed by our architecture and history.
OUR STORY
Built by the Christ Church parish to serve the residents of industrial Old City, Neighborhood House opened its doors in 1915. In the late 1990s, local artists seeking unusual, flexible, and affordable venues for Live Arts/Fringe Festival performances discovered the building’s large, open spaces. The Neighborhood House program solidified around that homegrown demand and the facility advanced with it, greatly aided by the significant initial investments of the William Penn Foundation.
Today, in addition to housing the Christ Church Parish and Preservation Trust offices, Christ Church Neighborhood House serves a core constituency of cross-disciplinary performing artists who imagine new and experimental works in our ADA-accessible, 110-seat theater. The reach of our arts programming extends beyond the building walls to include concerts in the Christ Church sanctuary and commissions for every corner of our historical campus.
In 2016, we took over operation of the Farmers Market at Christ Church, formerly N3rd Street Farmers Market. Every Wednesday afternoon, May-November, we invite farmers, artisans, and the community onto the brick pavers outside the church gates.
Hannah Opdenaker
Neighborhood House Director
Hannah Opdenaker
Neighborhood House Director
Hannah Opdenaker is a performing artist and designer in Philadelphia. She is a stage actress, with a focus in contemporary works and movement. She has directed, designed, costumed, and performed in shows in the tristate area. She is a graduate from Mount St. Mary’s University, holding a BA in Theatre and a BA in Political Science. In her studies at “The Mount”, she focused on theatre and devised work telling classic stories with a modern, political twist. As Director of Neighborhood House, Hannah is able to bring her passion for bringing “the arts” to “the people” to cultivate an exciting, year round program for Philadelphia.
Vince Lattuca
Social Media & Farmers Market Manager
Vince Lattuca
Social Media & Farmers Market Manager
Many of you might already know Vince Lattuca as the cookie guy from Lavinia’s Cookies. Vince joined the market as a vendor in 2013 when it was still N3RD St. Farmers Market -- and continued as a vendor until 2018 when he began a new career managing the Upper Merion Farmers Market in King of Prussia. Now Vince is back as manager of the Farmers Market at Christ Church! He has integral knowledge of not just the market’s history but all our vendors and customers. Vince also manages all of the social media for the Farmers Market, Neighborhood House, and Christ Church Preservation Trust. He is a graduate from West Chester University, holding a BA in Political Science with a minor in Communication Studies.
Amanda Kijak
Production Manager
Amanda Kijak
Production Manager
Amanda Kijak is a stage and production manager who has worked with a variety of productions and venues around the city. She has a BA from Temple University where she dual-majored in Theater and Media Production with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She also completed an Executive Certificate in Event Leadership through Temple. In her time outside of the Neighborhood House, she freelances as a stage manager and theater technician and also works as a Licensed Massage Therapist.
Arthur Judson Foundation
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation
