Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT) is a community theatre in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

, that produces 10 to 11 full productions annually and conducts youth and adult theatre education programs.

About

Raleigh Little Theatre was established in 1936 to provide

community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

performances and opportunities for residents. RLT produces 11 shows each season, professionally supported by complete on-site costume and scene shops, along with a full and part-time professional staff of 16 and more than 600 community volunteers. With the largest subscription base of any community theatre in the area (3,000+), RLT serves more than 40,000 people with shows each season. A total of 10 to 11 shows are produced annually, professionally supported by complete on-site costume and scene shops.

History

Raleigh Little Theatre started in 1935-36 when a group of Raleigh performers joined forces with technical workers from the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United ...

to bring

to Raleigh. The theatre celebrated its 75th Anniversary Season in 2010-2011. ''

The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga se ...

'', in October 2010, was the theatre's 600th production. Then, civic leader Cantey Venable Sutton started the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

construction of the main theatre, amphitheatre, and Rose Garden. In 2000, the main theatre was named in honor of Sutton. RLT's annual performance awards, given each June, have been called "Canteys" in her honor for a number of decades. RLT was the first community theatre in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

to cast

actors An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

of color during

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

Venues

The Raleigh Little Theatre facility includes three on-site venues: the 298-seat Cantey V. Sutton Theatre built in 1939; the outdoor 2000-seat RLT's Louise "Scottie" Stephenson

Amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, also built in 1939; and the 150-seat Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre built in 1990.

Special events

Raleigh Little Theatre stages several special events throughout the year. Some of these are fundraisers for the theatre, others for social gatherings to recognize volunteers. Among these are: *Divas! *The Canteys *Costume Sale

Youth education programs

Each year, RLT serves more than 900 children and adults in its year-round on-site and satellite education programs through the Dianne Davidian Education Program. In addition, more than 1,000 Wake County students are served in the classroom, at youth organizations and on-site are reached through its RLT Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Active Arts Outreach Program. In 2003, RLT launched its RLT/ Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Arts Active Outreach Program to bring its award-winning, process-oriented, youth education program directly into the classroom. During the first six months of the program, more than 1,000 students had the opportunity to experience the theatrical arts either through workshops, in-classroom residencies or special performances in schools that otherwise would not have been possible.

Notable performers

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...

performed at RLT in the early 1940s *

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award n ...

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

Lachlan Watson Lachlan Watson (born April 12, 2001) is an American actor, best known for playing trans boy Theo Putnam in the Netflix original series ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', and non-binary twins Glen and Glenda Tilly in the second season of the ...

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 35.791340, -78.668214, display=title Music venues in North Carolina Theatres in Raleigh, North Carolina Amphitheaters in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Raleigh, North Carolina Works Progress Administration in North Carolina Tourist attractions in Raleigh, North Carolina