The Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain (''LTG'') is an

Umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

promoting and supporting independent amateur

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

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.John Gunn, ''Acting for You'', page 119 (john gunn), 2006, ,

History

The Little Theatre Guild, was founded in 1946 to represent the views of Amateur theatres across the UK. Its original membership was nine with groups such as The Crescent Theatre, Highbury Little Theatre and The Questors taking a leading part in its foundation. 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 National Drama Festivals Association (NDFA) was formed in 1964 to encourage and support amateur theatre in all its forms and in particular through the organisation of drama festivals in the United Kingdom. Since 1974 the NDFA has organised th ...

, the LTG organises festivals of amateur drama across the United Kingdom. Barry Turner ''The writer's handbook guide to writing for stage and screen'', page 14, Writer's Handbook Guides Series (Pan Macmillan), 2003, ,

Founding Members

The original co-founder members included; Bradford Civic Playhouse,

Crescent Theatre The Crescent Theatre is a multi-venue theatre run mostly by volunteers in Birmingham City Centre. It is part of the Brindleyplace development on Sheepcote Street. It has a resident company, one of the oldest theatre companies in the city, and al ...

, Great Hucklow Players, Highbury Theatre (formerly Highbury Little Theatre), Leicester Drama Society, Norwich Players, People's Theatre,

The Questors Theatre The Questors Theatre is a theatre venue located in the London Borough of Ealing, west London. It is home of The Questors, a large theatre company which hosts a season of around twenty productions a year and is a member of the ''Little Theatre Gu ...

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: * To extend close co-operation between members in all areas of theatre; to organise national and regional

conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...

and

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. * To run regular courses to improve standards and theatrical knowledge. * To act as the co-ordinating body for the development of little theatres, and to lobby on their behalf on matters of national interest, such as

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Charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

status,

licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

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and

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

. * To help and improve relationships with

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

and regional arts associations. * To provide a forum for the exchange of ideas

regionally In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

nationally A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

and internationally. * To ensure that the voice of the little theatre movement is heard strongly within national and

international bodies International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, including the Central Council for Amateur Theatre (CCAT) and the International Theatre Exchange (ITE). The Guild holds two National Conferences each year and is organised on a regional basis for the arrangement of additional conferences, seminars and

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

events.

Notable member theatres

* Archway Theatre * Bournemouth Little Theatre * The Bob Hope Theatre *

* Highbury Theatre *

Ilkley Playhouse Ilkley Playhouse is a live theatre in Ilkley, Bradford, England. It is owned and run by Ilkley Players Ltd a not-for-profit charitable organisation. Ilkley Playhouse is run by an Executive Committee and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers d ...

Nomad Theatre A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In t ...

Plaza Theatre, Romsey
* Priory Theatre *

Progress Theatre Progress Theatre is a local theatre company at Reading in England. It is a registered charity and it is a member of the Little Theatre Guild (LTG) and the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA). History Progress Theatre was estab ...

Questors Theatre The Questors Theatre is a theatre venue located in the London Borough of Ealing, west London. It is home of The Questors, a large theatre company which hosts a season of around twenty productions a year and is a member of the '' Little Theatre Gu ...

South London Theatre The South London Theatre is a community theatre housed in a Grade II listed former fire station, in West Norwood in the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The first play opened in October 1967, and it is now a busy theatrical venue, presenting ...

Station Theatre (Hayling Island) The Station Theatre is a small amateur dramatics theatre located in the village of West Town, Hayling Island, Hampshire, England which is run for the people of Hayling Island and surrounding areas. The theatre was converted from the derelict rail ...

Rugby Theatre Rugby Theatre is an amateur theatre in Rugby, Warwickshire, located in Henry Street in the town centre. The building which the theatre is based in on Henry Street was first opened as a 550 seat cinema called ''The Empire'' in 1913, being rena ...

External links

littletheatreguild.org
Their website

References