Who We Are
Our Town Theatre Group is a community theatre group located in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York. We have been sponsoring events and staging major productions since 1997. Feel free to browse through our site to see what is coming and what has been. . .
You're welcome to join us in the audience for any performance, join the cast and crew, or volunteer for any of the opportunities to share the experience of theatre in Our Town of North Creek, NY!
Our Mission is to promote the arts through education and public performances.
Our History
In 1996, Lyle Dye came to North Creek for solitude. A newcomer to the Adirondacks, he had been a professional theatre and TV director and producer, working from New York to Los Angeles. In addition, he had recently retired as a professor of Theatre and Music.
In the winter of 1996 he led a series of film discussions at the new Johnsburg library, as well as holding numerous meetings around the counter at the North Creek Deli and Marketplace with, mainly, retirees now living in the Adirondacks. From these informal meetings the idea of founding a local community theatre was born. That year also saw the first of what was to become an annual "Holiday Celebration," a gift to the community, at the Wevertown Community Center.
In 1997, the fledging group now named the Our Town Theatre Group (OTTG), sponsored its first event: a concert by the Downing College at Cambridge University in England at the Wevertown Methodist Church. Slowly their repertoire grew, beginning with Nan and Will Clarkson reading "Love Letters" followed by "A Celebration of Teddy Roosevelt" compiled by Lyle Dye. From then on, OTTG has presented at least one major production every year including such shows as "Our Town" which was their first full production and also featured three professional guest artists.
Other production highlights through the years included "Women Who Did," again compiled by Lyle Dye which recognized the 150th anniversary of the Women's Movement, "Family, Friends, and Foes," a series of vignettes from various plays, "Radiorama," a new compilation recreating the Golden Age of Radio, "Steel Magnolias," "The Man Who Came to Dinner," "Ella," a look at the North Country's Durant family edited by Lyle Dye, "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little," "Further Reflections," an evening of improvisation, "Duets," a synopsized version of four Pulitzer Prize winning plays, "The Dining Room," and "Book of Days."
In addition to major productions, OTTG has presented staged and costumed play readings, has taken shows on the road to Blue Mountain Lake, Glens Falls, Old Forge, Minerva, Chestertown, and Raquette Lake, sponsored annual productions from Pendragon theatre and the Seagle Colony, continues with a yearly Film Festival, takes theatre trips and produces theatre workshops in such areas as Children's Theatre, Directing, and Acting.
About Us
Where to find us
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 586
North Creek, NY 12853
For its first five years, OTTG traveled from venue to venue, performing wherever the space was available including a tent at the Upper Hudson River Railroad parking lot.
And then, in 2002, came the overwhelming gift to the Town of Johnsburg of the Tannery Pond Community Center from Woody and Elise Widlund. Our Town Theatre Group found a permanent home in the Center and resides there as a resident performing group. They continue producing live theatre and events for, and in, the North Country, using their resources their time, talents, treasury, and community.
