Oshawa Little Theatre
The Oshawa Little Theatre was started in 1928 by Verna Conant, wife of former Oshawa Mayor and future Ontario Premier Gordon Conant. As a result of the Great Depression, the theatre dissolved in 1932 but would be re-established in 1950 when the economic uncertainty of the Depression and Second World War had subsided.
Initially plays were rehearsed in the homes of the performers. Later they rented a Quonset hut at the airport, but they and their props quickly out grew the facility. Only in 1976 after a long fundraising campaign which raised $171,000 did the group acquire and adequately renovate a dedicated rehearsal space and workshop at 62 Russet Avenue. The current Theatre building designed by architect Peter Smith was opened in 1983 with a performance of The Music Man.
The Oshawa Little Theatre saw enough success to pay of its mortgage within 7 years, and today proudly stands as one of the few theatre troops in the province to own their own theatre. Today the Oshawa Little Theatre hosts its own events and also rents its space out to other theatre troops and other groups in need of a stage.