Jamestown Community Theatre

The Jamestown Community Theatre (JCT) is a non-profit organization committed to fostering the growth of arts, culture, social awareness, and the education of Jamestown's young people through the joint involvement of youth and adults in the theater experience. Existing under the Jamestown Recreation Department and overseen by an active Board of Directors, all those who make up the cast and crew, from the backstage to lighting to set construction to costumes to promotions, are Jamestowners. Most of our productions are held in the Recreation Center at East Ferry.

In 1990, Mary Wright and Patricia Vandal were given $500.00 in start-up money by the Jamestown Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force to stage a play with the youth of Jamestown. Mary said, "We really want to mix adults and children in order to foster positive relationships between generations," and thus it began.

That first play was Peter Pan, the musical, and it included about forty-five cast members. Most were children but several adults had acting roles or worked behind the scenes. The production was a success--we've sold out almost all our performances since--and now twenty five plays later, casts can add up to over one hundred people, comprised of many children, diligent teens, and numerous adults! We have choreographers, costume designers, set designers, and an orchestra.

Many parents spending time rehearsing and acting on stage with their children, and so bring a new dimension to their family life.

During each play we try to include lessons which are relevant to the play. When we did Fiddler On The Roof, we invited clergymen to join in a discussion of tolerance and prejudice. With The Sound of Music, Mary Wright spoke about peer pressure and the Nazi influence on the youth and adults in Germany.