KTG History

A Brief History
House lights out! Curtain going up!

Those words first echoed backstage for the Kirkwood Theatre Guild (called Kirkwood Little Theatre then) on June 9, 1931 with the presentation of Tillie of Bloomsbury, an English comedy.

During the early years, The Kirkwood Theatre Guild (KTG) was beset by financial troubles. There were no membership fees, so members of the cast rehearsed frantically for six or seven weeks, then just as frantically sold tickets to anyone interested. Sometimes there was just not enough to pay the director's small salary, so they were gifted with loads of coal and occasional sacks of potatoes. Thus it could be said that the Guild started out as a barter theatre of sorts.

But the Guild persevered . On the night of
January 3, 1933, twelve persistent souls met
at the home of Miss Emily Boyd on North Taylor
Avenue. As President, they elected H. Edmund
Mack, Jr. His first order of business was to
charge a membership fee, procure patrons
for $10 each, and to raise money by giving a
series of benefit performances. His idea
worked! A year and a half later, with Luella Mack as the new president, the Kirkwood Little Theatre had 229 paid members and six patrons.

As the Guild matured, the American Legion Hall could no longer accommodate its growing audiences. Thus began the search for a larger auditorium - a period looked back upon as "the gypsy years!" Productions were held at Kirkwood High School, at the North Junior High School, and in the Kirkwood Amphitheater.

In the fall of 1967, KTG finally found a home - - The newly built Kirkwood Community Center. The Guild presented its first play of the 1967-68 season in the Center's beautifully designed 400-seat theater. The play was Sunday in New York.

KTG takes pride in the fact that it is one of the oldest amateur theater organization in continuous operation in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Our membership has grown from those "twelve persistent souls" to approximately 1,200 and attracts wonderful talent for each production.