Welcome to the
Located in Winchester, MA, The Winchester Players is a community theater group dedicated to presenting quality productions from a variety of theater including less frequently performed works. These include such classics as J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace, and newer works like Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig, Expecting Isabel by Lisa Loomer, and the Massachusetts premier production of Labor Day by A. R. Gurney. The Winchester Players performs in the Winchester Unitarian Church, 478 Main St. (corner of Mystic Valley Parkway), Winchester, MA. The theater is convenient to public transportation (MBTA commuter rail, Lowell line), and is handicap accessible. Click on the Directions link on the left for directions to the theater.
The Winchester Players/The Winchester Unitarian Players: Two Names, One Tradition
In a 1981 church newsletter, Insights, retired Winchester Unitarian Society (WUS) Minister, Robert A. Storer (1950-1969), wrote about the warm and substantial history of his beloved Unitarian Players. “It was organized in 1932 by a number of parishioners who had in mind : “To present good theater, to establish a bond between cast and audience and to enrich church life”. Reviving the group in 1950 after a decade of dormancy brought on by the war years, Rev. Storer, once a professional actor himself, revived the group, nurtured it's growth and after nearly two decades described the Unitarian players as “...the one group in our church where singles, couples and old can work together, become acquainted and have a feeling that their participation enriches the church and the community. Long live the Unitarian Players.”
More than twenty-five years after Rev. Storer's decree, The Winchester Players are indeed alive and well and still dwelling in our familial home, Metcalf Hall of The Winchester Unitarian Society. It was more than a decade ago that the “Unitarian” was dropped from the groups name because to the public it was assumed that to be involved with the Winchester Unitarian Players one needed to be a Unitarian. Not so. It is easy to see why this was assumed because at one time there were so many active Unitarians involved with the Players; on the stage, behind the scenes building sets, hand drawing some of the most exquisite production posters, directing and producing plays, and the Board of Directors were at one time required to have a minimum number of Unitarians seated on the Board. (click here to read more)
There are many ways to be part of the Winchester Players. Performers, backstage help, and the audience, all come together to enjoy the experience of live theater. To learn more about our group and how to get involved, or if you would like to be on our mailing list (or change your current information), click the Join Us! link on the left.
If would like more information about The Winchester Players, please click on the Contact Us link on the left. The Winchester Players are members of ArtsBoston www.ArtsBoston.org and The Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters www.EMACT.org
This page was last updated on
07/19/09.