In 1980, members of the community theatre group Newport Player's Guild realized there was a lack of performing arts for children and families in Newport, and formed Newport Children's Theatre, originally with adult actors. The following year, NCT started the very successful Summer Theatre Workshop Program, forging a relationship with St. Michael's Country Day School that lasted almost two decades.
Impressed with the creativity of the young actors, and seeing how popular the end-of-session performances were, NCT officially became a "youth theatre", and began holding open auditions for young actors aged 8 and over for productions in the spring and December. By 1992, up to 90 children auditioned for each show, and Newport County Teen Repertory (NCT Rep) was formed to give experienced teen actors the chance to continue learning about theatre through a series of advanced workshops, touring performances to schools, libraries and community centers, and technical theatre opportunities.
As a result, there were more parts available for younger performers in NCT mainstage shows. In 2000, the relationship with St. MIchael's ended, leaving NCT without the Summer Workshop Program as a consistent source of income and, like so many other Newport theatre companies, without a home base. The company came very close to dissolution but, thanks to a new, invigorated Board of Directors, continued to produce shows whenever possible, and soon settled into Newport Congregational Church as a home base.
In August 2003, NCT performed its first mainstage show outdoors at Norman Bird Sanctuary, continuing and strengthening a relationship that had started in the early nineties with the autumn Night Hike. Today, NCT continues to explore a variety of performance venues on Aquidneck Island.
The hope is that someday Newport Children's Theatre will have its own "dedicated" theatre space to expand its successful performances and reintroduce its workshop program, continuing to bring the joys of live theatrical performances to children and families of Newport County.
