Mission:
To enrich the region with quality, live theatre arts.
About Us:
The Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre (HART) and Hillsboro Artists' Training (HAT) were started in 1994 by Kim L. and John H. Sandstrom as a private organization. It established itself in the community of Hillsboro, OR initially at a leased facility at 230 East Main Street. For the next three years, Kim Sandstrom ran the theatre and the schools, building support for her business. In 1997, the Sandstroms decided that this company was too much for one person to operate and sold the business to Friends of HART, Inc.
Friends of HART, Inc. (FOH) is a non-profit community organization created specifically to purchase HART from the Sandstroms. The purchase of HART was completed in June of 1999. The organization is dedicated to keeping quality theatre arts within Hillsboro.
In 2004, FOH decided not to renew the lease at its place of birth due to a steep rental increase. It was this turning point and Hillsboro's commitment to culture in the heart of the city in its 20/20 plan that led to the current partnership with the City of Hillsboro to establish a new home for HART adjacent to the city's new Community Center. The Capital Campaign to fund this project was started in 2005 and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2006.
In the interim, HART has been performing a reduced schedule of places at the Glen & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center and the Hillsboro Civic Center. This allowed HART to remain in the public eye and continue to provide quality theatre to the community.
