Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain

Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain
Full name Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain
Founded 18th May 1946
Affiliation Central Council for Amateur Theatre, Voluntary Arts Network
Key people Sir Ian McKellen, Patron
Kevin Spence, Chair
Brian Stoner , Treasurer
Country United Kingdom
Website LittleTheatreGuild.org

The Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain (LTG) is an Umbrella organisation promoting and supporting independent amateur theatre companies which have control over their own premises and produce drama of a high quality for the benefit of their communities. It has been credited with being pivotal in securing recognition for the theatrical contribution of little theatres in the United Kingdom.[1]

History

The Little Theatre Guild, was founded in 1946 to represent the views of Amateur theatres across the UK.[2] Its original membership was nine[3] with groups such as Highbury Little Theatre and The Questors taking a leading part in its foundation.[1] By 1988 this had increased to 30 and by 2010 to 103 theatre companies, some of which are outside of the UK. The major restriction for membership is that it is open only to those amateur theatres that own or lease the theatre premises upon which productions are mounted.

Similar to the National Drama Festivals Association, the LTG organises festivals of amateur drama across the United Kingdom. [4]

Founding Members

The original co-founder members included; Bradford Civic Playhouse, Crescent Theatre, Great Hucklow Players, Highbury Theatre Centre (formerly Highbury Little Theatre), Leicester Drama Society, Norwich Players, People's Theatre, The Questors Theatre and the Un-named Society. Some of these theatres have undergone name changes since they were formed and some have sadly been dissolved.

Aims of the Guild

The aims of the Guild are:

The Guild holds two National Conferences each year and is organised on a regional basis for the arrangement of additional conferences, seminars and training events.

Notable member theatres

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 John Gunn, Acting for You, page 119 (john gunn), 2006, ISBN 0-9775899-3-5, ISBN 978-0-9775899-3-7
  2. Official site
  3. Phyllis Hartnoll, Performing Arts, page 310, Omega Books, 1988
  4. Barry Turner The writer's handbook guide to writing for stage and screen, page 14, Writer's Handbook Guides Series (Pan Macmillan), 2003, ISBN 1-4050-0098-8, ISBN 978-1-4050-0098-7