THE NORTH SHORE
PLAYERS
The first inception of the North Shore Players was when the Danvers Womens'
Association decided to put on a play as a fund raiser in November of 1956. They got a
cast and production crew together with the help of some men from the Danvers
Jaycees. "You Can't Take It With You" was the play of choice, and was
presented to a standing room only audience at the former auditorium in the
Peabody Institute Library in Danvers. The show was such a huge success
that two additional performances were presented at the Essex Agricultural
School's auditorium in Hawthorne the following week. The group had
so much fun that they decided to form the Danvers Community Theatre and their
first show was Jean Kerr's "King of Hearts" in
the spring of 1958. These
early years of Danvers Community Theatre saw some competition with a rival
local group called the Theatrecrafters that was formed in 1961. Although
each group was reasonably successful they found that Danvers could not
support members or audiences of two local theatre companies. The two groups
decided to merge in late 1968 and became known as the Danvers Community
Theatrecrafters. Early in 1970, due to the growth of the membership and
acceptance of members from surrounding communities, the group voted to
change their name to the North Shore Players.
The North Shore Players produced their first musical, "Mame,"
in 1971 and have tried to perform one musical each season since then. In
addition to dramas and comedies, the group also does "road shows" that
travel and perform for local organizations. North Shore Players have been
competing at the New England Theatre Conference held each year at Brandeis
University, a drama festival competition, and have won several awards for
excellence in various aspects of theatre.
The North Shore Players have had a representative on the Danvers Arts
Council Steering Committee since the Arts Council was established. Through
grants received the group, has performed for several Senior Citizens groups
and have received monies to purchase much-needed theatrical equipment.
The North Shore Players has established a scholarship called the Viola
Patten Scholarship for the Performing Arts to be awarded each year to a
student who will be pursuing a career in the performing arts.
The North Shore Players was established as a non-profit organization
in 1975. This Danvers-based community theatre welcomes all people of all
ages who enjoy all phases of community theatre, both in appearing on-stage
as well as working behind the scenes. Membership is open to all.
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