Theatre changes lives and Theatre Charlotte, Charlotte’s community theatre, has been changing lives since 1927. Our mission is to create outstanding theatre opportunities relevant to the people of the Charlotte region. We fulfill this commitment through our programming and other initiatives. Our Main Stage Series consists of five productions selected for their broad-based community appeal. In addition, we offer two bonus productions, a holiday show in December and a comedy in June. As a partnership with Vito Abate, we present a monthly themed reading and performance series called ‘just do it,’ which provides an outlet for area performers, writers, singers, filmmakers, musicians and dancers. Our 24 Hour Theatre Project is a unique event in which six ten-minute plays are written, cast, rehearsed and presented to an audience—all within 24 hours! Our Student Theatre Guild, an area-wide theatre club, provides theatre education experiences for students age 14 through 18.

Theatre Charlotte is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, with a volunteer board of directors and a staff of 4 full time employees. Theatre Charlotte provides many volunteer opportunities for performers, backstage workers and ushers. Our guest directors, designers, choreographers and music directors give these volunteers the opportunity to work with the region’s most talented professionals.

Theatre Charlotte is proud of its heritage and its long-time tradition of production excellence.

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 445 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 Charlotte’s community theatre.