The Beverly Theatre Guild - Our History

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The Beverly Theatre Guild’s mission is to promote the development of talent and community interest in theatre arts and sciences through theatrical productions for our community of Chicagoland’s southwest corridor.

To that end, the Guild has been producing continuous seasons since 1963; however, our roots go back to 1929.  The Guild began as a program of the Chicago Park District. In 1963, a group of our theatre regulars decided to branch out in the belief that they could experiment and prosper independently. On May 17th, 1963, the new Beverly Theatre Guild was launched with a production of The Desk Set, presented at St. Xavier College.  In our early years, productions were at schools and restaurants as the Guild looked for a permanent home. 

In the late 1960s, The Beverly Theatre Guild joined other community organizations in supporting the founding of The Beverly Art Center.  The original Art Center’s stage, on the campus of Morgan Park Academy, was inaugurated in 1969 with the Guild’s production of Light Up the Sky.  When the Beverly Art Center of Chicago decided to build a new facility, the Beverly Theatre Guild’s membership volunteered in a variety of ways to assist with the new venture. Again, the Beverly Theatre Guild was a participant in the inaugural activities of their new facility in 2002.

We take great pride in our history of providing creative outlets for actors and theatre craftsmen, as well as presenting diversity within our seasons. We hope that you enjoy our productions, and will be part of our audience, cast and/or crew in the future.

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