A DAYTON PLAYHOUSE TIMELINE

The Dayton Playhouse has been an active community theater since 1959. At that time, it was known as Dayton Community Theatre, providing family entertainment at Longfellow School on Salem Avenue. Dayton Children’s Theatre was formed in 1962 and continued to grow and flourish through the years. Later, this program became known as Dayton Playhouse Youtheatre. The program provided an educational and performance opportunity to Dayton area children and teens. In 1966, the organization moved into the historic State Theatre in downtown Dayton. At this location, a second adult group was formed known as Dayton Repertory Theatre. The troupe statewide honors,After the demolition of the State Theatre in 1970, the groups were moved to a bowling alley on East Third Street, which the City of Dayton had converted into a theatre for our use. The intimate setting was home to the organization for many years and became known as The Dayton Playhouse. In the summer of 1987, the City of Dayton

completed work on a new venue located off Siebenthaler Avenue. This permanent facility is the pride and joy of the many actors and technicians who volunteer hundreds of hours each year to bring live theatre to our Dayton audiences. In 1991,

a tradition was started that is possibly the most identifiable and successful tradition in our history – FutureFest. FutureFest is an annual playwrighting festival that has helped launch the careers of almost 90 playwrights.