Mission and History
Our Mission
As proud stewards of Contra Costa County's oldest theatre company and a beloved Lafayette landmark, we are a vibrant home for the performing arts. We are dedicated to radical hospitality and building space for artists, audiences, and students to create lasting impact on our community through empathy and connection.
Taking risks: To unlock Town Hall Theatre's full potential, we embrace calculated risks as essential. By pushing the boundaries of storytelling, we spark creativity, drive innovation, and offer transcendent audience experiences. This approach fuels our artistic growth and strengthens our ability to evolve, ensuring we remain a dynamic, inclusive space where artists, audiences, and students forge meaningful connections.
Optimization: We firmly believe in optimization because it’s the engine driving our artistic ambitions. Through meticulous planning and resource management, we can realize our boldest visions while ensuring financial stability, allowing us to invest in groundbreaking productions and secure our long-term future.
Worldview: We hold a strong belief in the power of embracing diverse worldviews because it broadens our horizons. By exploring stories from different cultural and social backgrounds, we spark empathy and understanding, challenging preconceptions and enriching the tapestry of our productions.
New Voices: We are passionate about nurturing new voices because they are the architects of tomorrow’s theatre. By providing opportunities and mentorship to emerging playwrights, actors, directors, teachers, students, and technicians we ensure a constant influx of fresh and innovative perspectives, keeping our theatre vibrant and on the cutting edge.
Hospitality: We strive to be curators of radical hospitality. We believe in creating an environment where every patron, from the seasoned theatre-goer to the first-time visitor, feels genuinely welcomed. Our warm and inclusive attentive team and volunteers will ensure that every moment at our theatre is a memorable one.
Accessibility: We are dedicated to making theatre accessible to everyone, because we believe the arts should be inclusive and welcoming to all. We will work towards removing physical and sensory barriers and to offer affordable ticket options to ensure that our space is one where everyone can gather to experience the transformative power of live performance.
Local Engagement: We firmly believe in impactful local engagement. By collaborating with schools, businesses, and organizations in our community, we become an integral part of the local cultural landscape. We open our doors to our community, ensuring that our theatre is a catalyst for positive change in the lives of our neighbors.
Learning: In addition to offering many opportunities for our community to grow through our excellent educational programs, we also believe our company should be lifelong learners. We foster a culture of curiosity, where every member can expand their skills, ultimately elevating our contribution to the arts and our community.
Town Hall Theatre Values
History of Town Hall Theatre
Established in 1944 as the Dramateurs and reorganized in 1992 as the Town Hall Theatre Company of Lafayette, we are the oldest continuously active theatre company in Contra Costa County.
The land and the labor to build the historic Town Hall building were donated by the community. Construction was completed in May 1914 on land donated by Frank and Rosa Ghiglione who also contributed $200 towards building costs. The first event held in the building was a Grand Ball, and subsequent Town Hall events were so well attended that the Sacramento Northern Railroad provided a special train from Oakland to West Lafayette. Often the festivities would begin around 9pm, with dinner at midnight, followed by dancing and more partying. One train reportedly left the Lafayette station at 5:30am.
Lafayette Grammar School used Town Hall as an auditorium until its own auditorium was built in 1944. Town Hall also hosted community meetings, church services, movies, and basketball. The Lafayette Playshop began holding theatrical performances at Town Hall in 1941. The Playshop’s opening night was December 3, 1941, just before the United States entered World War II - and so, for the next four years, Town Hall was used in the war effort.
In 1947 the Straw Hat Revue rented the building, and in 1955, the Dramateurs began holding productions there. A local group called the "Laf-Frantics" performed there from 1956 to 1986. The Dramateurs reorganized as Town Hall Theatre Company in 1992, and the company has since delighted audiences of all ages and won numerous local Shellie Awards for its work.
Live theatre continues in Lamorinda because of the generosity of its citizens, and the existence and use of the Town Hall building for this purpose over so many decades is a testament to this spirit.