Our History

Children’s Theatre Association was founded in 1934 when twenty young women saw a need to bring LIVE theater to the children of San Francisco. With the backing of the Junior League and the San Francisco Opera Ballet and under the leadership of its first president, Mrs. Churchill Peters, this nonprofit was established and was able to reach a large number of children by distributing 2,000 tickets to 25 charitable entities. During World War II, CTA suspended its productions in order to fully engage in the war effort by joining the activities of the Stage Door Canteen as well as providing camperships for children’s groups. In 1949 San Francisco Ballet founder, William Christensen, asked the association to sponsor his full production of The Nutcracker and Beauty and the Beast. 1952 was a turning point for CTA as it established member staffed workshops in acting, costumes, scenery, music and lighting, enabling the women to deliver their first member-written production of Candy which was performed at the Marine‘s Memorial Theater.

In 1971, having employed professional directors, our most cherished and esteemed member, Missy Saveri, wrote the book and music for The Magic Seeds, the first of countless contemporary versions of fairy tale classics which she wrote. The 1970s saw the cast and crew trouping to schools throughout the Bay Area in order to introduce as many children as possible to the joy and appreciation of live musical theater. In 1981, CTA partnered with the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and its cultural program for schools. This partnership provided a new home for the productions in the exquisite and historical Florence Gould Theater at the Legion of Honor where we performed for many years, for free, up until 2012 when the Museum revamped its program. At that juncture, we began paying to perform at various theaters in San Francisco.

Today, with two separate casts, we perform for school children twice a week through the months of Feb and Mar. These shows are at no cost to the students and their teachers. We also perform for the public, and those ticket sales subsidize the cost of the school program. The remaining production costs are covered by membership dues, fundraising events and foundation grants. It would be impossible to fulfill our mission without our committed members whose participation in all aspects of the productions is on a volunteer basis. Only our two professional directors, and some technical staff, earn a fee. Our important service to the community was recognized in 1998 by the Bay Area Theatre Critics when it awarded CTA its Circle Award. In the fall of 2019, CTA’s long held dream of finding a permanent home became a reality with the complete renovation of the Presidio Theatre, thanks to the tireless efforts of its benefactor and our beloved member, Peggy Haas. In January 2020, CTA’s production of The Wizard of Oz made its debut in this state of the art venue.

Children’s Theatre Association has flourished for more than 80 years thanks to the charisma, vision and hard work of its founders. It continues today with an incredible group of women whose unfailing mutual support, deep and abiding friendship and unlimited humor make every CTA production a cause for celebration.