Theatre Charlotte

Mission and Vision:

Theatre Charlotte is a volunteer-based theatre company dedicated to creating outstanding theatre opportunities relevant to the people of the Charlotte region.

Theatre Charlotte is committed to making theatre relevant in the lives of more people by demonstrating that theatre engages, inspires and unites communities. Hundreds of volunteers get involved each year as actors, crew members, and ushers, while thousands participate as audience members. We encourage individuals of all age and experience to be a part of our productions and learn from our professional directors, designers, and staff.

The North Carolina Theatre Conference has named Theatre Charlotte Community Theatre of the Year three times, most recently in 2008. Theatre Charlotte was also named Theatre of the Year by the Metrolina Theatre Association for the 2011-2012 season and our productions, directors, actors, and designers have received numerous awards from the organization annually. Charlotte Magazine's Best of the Best awards named Theatre Charlotte "Theatre with Staying Power" in 2013.

Theatre Charlotte is proud of our heritage and excited about our future!

History

In 1927, the Charlotte branch of the American Association of University Women decided to study the Little Theatre movement. This grassroots effort to mount amateur theatricals swept the country during and after the First World War.

That group performed its first production in 1928, a reading of "Outward Bound", in the Carnegie Library uptown and the Charlotte Drama League was born. This organization soon became The Little Theatre of Charlotte and throughout the 1930s presented productions in venues such as Baird's School, Alexander Graham Junior High, Central High School, Thompson Orphanage Auditorium and Presbyterian College Auditorium on College Street.

Since 1941, the theatre has been housed at 501 Queens Road, located in the heart of the historic Myers Park district of Charlotte. The first production at this location was "George Washington Slept Here," which opened on December 1, 1941 and concluded a highly successful run on Saturday, December 6. The next day came the attack on Pearl Harbor and many of the theatre's volunteers went off to war. The theatre continued to present plays, as it had every season during the depression and as it has done every season during its history.

With over 460 main stage productions presented to over half a million audience members, an annual participation of approximately 500 volunteers, and outreach programs that serve the schools and the community at large, Theatre Charlotte is...your stage, your local theatre.