The most important reason for the resilience though, said Wyland, is that the LTA is a community theater - not an amateur theater. Besides the annual seven-show seasons, the LTA hosts a national one-act playwriting competition, and an academy that teaches players of all ages and experience. The organization has always been egalitarian with an emphasis on education,' he said.

'The by-laws were specifically written so that the LTA would not be run by a few people for just a few people. PAST BOARD president Rance Willis feels they also have a strong organization that has allowed the LTA to avoid disruptive conflict, and focus on arts and arts education. The private, nonprofit LTA also allows local charities to buy out select performances and then re-sell tickets for fund-raising purposes. The building and its rosebush-encircled courtyard have been used for community events, First Night performances, and elementary school graduations. That stability helps us build and keep good will.' 'We're kind of like the Cheers bar, 'when you have a physical place, you become a community institution. 'Most community theaters bounce from location to location,' said Wyland. The red brick two-story building houses a 219-seat theater with high ceilings, brass chandeliers, and a muted forest green decor. Russell Wyland, member of the Board of Governors, believes the partial answer to the longevity question is that the LTA has had a consistent physical presence. Asaph streets in Alexandria where the LTA has been ever since. The rental income established the building endowment, and in 1961, they broke ground at the corner of Wolfe and St. Shrewd investors, they pooled their resources to purchase parking lot space. Truman.īut it wasn't all fun and games for the players.

In the 1940s, children dressed in Revolutionary-era costume greeted cars and sold period refreshments as actors performed colonial revival plays to audiences in Gadsby's Tavern that included President and Mrs. Perhaps as a diversion from the tough times of the Great Depression, a small group of Alexandrian businesspeople founded the LTA in 1934, as a play-reading group. Just how has the LTA endured economically challenging times and regional artistic consolidation through the years? Although the Ford Theater in Washington, D.C., is older, and the Old Town Theater in Alexandria is larger, The Little Theatre of Alexandria (LTA) is the longest continuously running live performance theater in the metropolitan area.

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