OUR ROOTS...
In the fall of 1987, Wayne Coyle called a number of people from the Windsor community who were interested in theatre and asked them to attend a meeting in a local pub to try to launch a new theatre group and with the help of these few people, THEATRE WINDSOR was born.
The concept was simple: Windsor needed a theatre company that was dedicated to producing shows in which the entire community could participate and which were to be non-musical in nature. It was felt that there were no acting companies in Windsor that had as their mandate the presentation of 'Legitimate Theatre' and which would call upon any community member to be a participant. Thus, the idea of 'A Theatre For Everyone' became part of the concept.
The next step was to present the idea to the public and so Heroes by Ken Mitchell was hastily prepared and presented at the AKO Community Centre. The first major production, Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, was announced for January, 1988; the director, Michael Lyons, was chosen; audition dates were set up and the Polonia Centre (now the Place Concorde) was booked for six performances. THEATRE WINDSOR, A THEATRE FOR EVERYONE, was alive.
Since that humble beginning, THEATRE WINDSOR produced five shows at the St. Rose Centre before the Centre changed ownership. THEATRE WINDSOR then moved to the old Croatian Centre at 2520 Seminole Street (now the Maltese Club downstairs and the theatre upstairs) and has been producing plays there ever since.
In 1995, THEATRE WINDSOR began presenting a new phase of their performance schedule with the inaugural Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre show called "The Cruise of Death". This was so successful that it was decided that there would be an entire “Second Season” of Murder Mysteries in addition to the regular slate of plays and people began writing scenarios for a series of four murder mysteries per season. In addition to performing in-house Murder Mysteries, the company began to take them on the road to various locations as the bookings came in.
THEATRE WINDSOR has participated in several charity endeavours including the Benefit performance of Agnes of God for the family of the late Tony DiCocco, the Coats for Kids campaign, The Salvation Army Food Drive and the annual Christmas Food Drive. Theatre Windsor also performs Charity preview shows for local non-profit groups.
THEATRE WINDSOR has produced plays at The Polonia Centre, the St. Rose Centre, The Capital Theatre, The Ciociaro Club and at The Malta Club location on Seminole Street. Theatre Windsor is proud to have moved to its present location at The Market Square in the summer of 2004.
In the fall of 1995, THEATRE WINDSOR became an incorporated entity called THEATRE WINDSOR, INC., “A THEATRE FOR EVERYONE”.
THEATRE WINDSOR circulates an information newsletter called SPOTLIGHT several times a year to keep members informed of all news and upcoming events.
THEATRE WINDSOR is a Registered Charitable Organization and distributes tax receipts for all donations and contributions. If you or your group would like to contribute to the ongoing success of THEATRE WINDSOR please call the Box Office at 944-1968.
From 1997-2006, THEATRE WINDSOR sponsored a one act play writing contest and has invited local playwrights to submit entries. These plays were adjudicated by our play reading committee and the winning playwright was offered the chance to have his or her play produced in our One Act Play Festival which was held each year. Very often the One Act Play Festival was produced using three or four of the submitted plays because of the quality submitted. The aim of this endeavour was to promote the writing and producing of Windsor and Essex County plays. This contest was a very creative collaborative dramatic which THEATRE WINDSOR was proud to sponsor.
THEATRE WINDSOR at the end of their 20th season (2006-2007) has produced 86 full-length plays, a score of murder mysteries and 43 one-act plays. |