The Ottawa Little Theatre, originally called the Ottawa Drama League at its inception in 1913, is the longest continuously running community theatre in Canada, and one of the oldest in North America. Based in Canada's capital city, it owns its own 360-seat theatre where it presents three-week runs of nine plays per season from September through July. The OLT's longevity and success are impressive, especially as it receives no regular government funding. In 1970, when the Little Theatre (originally a church that had been renovated in 1928) was completely destroyed by fire, the OLT built and opened a new theatre on the same site within two years, and retired the debt within five years. The OLT's income is generated almost entirely from ticket sales and donations. All its directors, actors, designers and stage crew are volunteers. A number of Canadian actors have performed on the OLT stage, including Amelia Hall,

Saul Rubinek Saul Hersh Rubinek (born July 2, 1948) is a German-born Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright. He is widely known for his television roles, notably Artie Nielsen on ''Warehouse 13,'' Donny Douglas on ''Frasier'', Lon Cohen on ''A N ...

, Rich Little,

Robert MacNeil Robert Breckenridge Ware MacNeil, Order of Canada, OC (born January 19, 1931) is a Canadian-American journalist and writer. He is a retired television news anchor who partnered with Jim Lehrer to create ''The MacNeil/Lehrer Report'' in 1975. E ...

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in '' Smoke Signals'', Frank Fencepost in ''Dance Me Outside'', Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', Kickin' Wing in ''Joe Dirt'', U.S. Marine ...

, Luba Goy and

Raoul Bhaneja Raoul Bhaneja is an English-Canadian actor, musician, writer and producer. Early life and studies Bhaneja was born in Manchester. His father is an Indian Sindhi and mother is Irish. A graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada and Ot ...

. Famed photographer

Yousuf Karsh Yousuf Karsh, FRPS (December 23, 1908 – July 13, 2002) was a Canadian-Armenian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals. He has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. An Armenian ...

also has a rich history with the Ottawa Little Theatre developing his lighting techniques while photographing multiple productions in the 1930s. It was there that he met his first wife, Solonge. The theatre has several original photographs of Karsh on display. The

Dominion Drama Festival The Dominion Drama Festival was an organisation in Canada that sought to promote amateur theatre across the country. It lasted, in one form or another, from 1932 until 1978. Founding The Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) was devised in 1932 as a wa ...

, founded in 1933, took place at the Little Theatre for its first five years. In 1937, the theatre launched a National One-Act Playwriting Competition which continues to this day. Winners have included

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

, John Murrell, Erika Ritter,

Catherine Banks Catherine Banks is a Canadian playwright. She is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Award for English-language drama, in 2008 for ''Bone Cage'' and in 2012 for ''It Is Solved By Walking''. She resides in Sambro, Nova Scotia, a rural co ...

and

Ken Mitchell Ken Mitchell (born December 13, 1940) is a Canadian poet, novelist and playwright. Mitchell was raised on a rural farm outside the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Mitchell began his post-secondary education as a journalism student at Ryerson In ...

. The Ottawa Little Theatre's website includes a searchable database of Past ProductionsOttawa Little Theatre Past Productions
/ref> with cast and crew members as well as photographs from the more than 1,000 plays that have been performed throughout its history.

Gallery

Image:theatre_from_booth.jpg, The auditorium from the sound booth Image:theatrelobby.jpg, The lobby Image:Hamlin theatre.jpg, The auditorium

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Theatre companies in Ontario Theatres in Ottawa Theatres completed in 1913 1913 establishments in Ontario