More than 70 YEARS ago, back when Wilton was not much more than dirt roads and farmland, a group of like-minded residents, hungry for culture and intellectual connection, began meeting periodically to discuss plays they had seen in other local communities. At one of these gatherings, a brave soul raised his hand and suggested that if the towns around them, such as Westport and Norwalk, had their own theater groups, why shouldn’t Wilton?

From such humble beginnings, The Wilton Playshop was born in 1937, and today it is considered one of the oldest, continuously operating community theaters in the Northeast.

In the beginning, The Wilton Playshop did not have an official home. They put on their shows in whatever available space they could find—places like Town Hall, a resident’s barn, and even in the Cider Mill (for which our current elementary school is named). The historical record is a little sketchy, but at some point in the 1940s the group realized that they needed a permanent home. After considering many options, the group purchased the unattached annex to the Congregational Church and moved it down the hill to its current location on Lovers Lane, joining it with a goat barn that was either already on the property or fairly close by. Since then, the Playshop has been an integral part of the town.

The goal of the Playshop is to further the performing arts while involving local residents in all aspects of putting on a production. Once the board selects the slate of shows for a season, a call goes out for experienced people to apply for the roles of director, musical director, and choreographer. Next comes the casting call. The actors who show up for auditions come from all walks of life. Typically, about half are Wilton residents and the rest come from surrounding towns. Some have full-time jobs, others are stay-at-home moms. A few are local students or recent grads. Most have done some acting before—many in high-school or college productions, others in community theaters, and a few have even worked professionally on Broadway or off-Broadway. (The Wilton Playshop is a “non-equity house,” so members of the Actor’s Equity Association must get special permission to perform there.) The Playshop welcomes everyone. For those who are stage-shy, there are many other opportunities to get involved in a show—committees for costumes, lighting, props, sets, and hospitality. There is plenty of work to go around.

In its 70-plus years, the Playshop has put on over 200 shows. A typical season has three to five productions. There have been 38 presidents and countless more dedicated board members who devoted time and energies to every show. In June of 2007, there was a changeover of the Playshop’s board, led by the indomitable Zelie Pforzheimer, the current president. When the new board took over, they walked in knowing the Playshop was in fiscal trouble ($25,000 in debt), but what they did not anticipate was that the building was in physical trouble, too. An inspection just after the Playshop cast their 2007 adaptation of A Christmas Story revealed that the main exterior wall had major water damage. The wall and the roof would have to be repaired. Pforzheimer and her team had to cancel the very first show of the new season.

Undeterred, they held a fundraiser gala in the spring of 2008. They were able to make the necessary repairs as well as other needed improvements and reopened for their 2008-09 season.

The next show will be Sweet Charity, a musical by Neil Simon, Cy Coleman, and Dorothy Fields. To learn more, visit wiltonplayshop.org.