Community Theater Plays and Performances in Walpole, Massachusetts

Lights Up on the Walpole Footlighters

The "Walpole Footlighters" of Walpole, MA is a local theater group that performs at the Walpole Footlighters Playhouse in Walpole, MA. In general theater is well received in Massachusetts . There are great summer theater venues on the North Shore, South Shore, in the Berkshires and on Cape Cod. Theater enthusiasts can get find lots of professional theater options in Boston throughout the year. But Massachusetts also abounds in local theater companies who work year in and year out to offer quality productions for local audiences at reasonable prices. Such a local theater group is the Walpole Footlighters and their success among Massachusetts local theaters is almost legendary.

From Humble Beginnings . The history of the Walpole Footlighters of Walpole, MA goes back to the wild and woolly times of the 1920's . In 1924 the high school principal in Walpole, MA called together 12 local theater buffs who decided to work together to plan, produce, direct and act in local productions. These twelve called in one additional assistant, a carpenter from a nearby town to help with stage repairs, and together they became known as the "Original Thirteen" . In Massachusetts, one of the original thirteen colonies in the United States, the name had significance and seemed a good omen for success.

In the 1920's plays were performed in all sorts of unusual places. Local theater groups often had to really scrap to come up with a home. The Walpole Footlighters were no exception. In the course of their more than 80 year history, the Walpole Footlighters, community theater in Walpole, MA , performers have found a home for their performances in a variety of local buildings. Earliest performances by the Walpole Footlighters were given in the Walpole Town Hall for the first five years of their history. Then for the next 10 years the group made use of the local high school which they were allowed to use for dress rehearsals and shows.