History:

Windham Center Stage Theater came into being in 1974. Harry Gray was visiting Frank Brautigum and he was relating the history of a theatre group he led in Canada. Mr. Gray said he had been toying with the idea of such a group in Windham, and he said, "Do you think we could?

They put a notice of an organizational meeting in the paper and thirty people showed up. Mr. Brautigum was elected president and Mr. Gray served as treasurer. They drafted the first set of by-laws with the help of Leslie Clark. The first production was called Downeast Potpourri. It appears to be a variety show of sorts and they ran into $1500 dollars in debt. There is no record of this first production in the archive. The second president was Thomas Gerringer and he was followed by Harry L. Gray III (Mr. Gray's son).

The oldest program in the archives is for The Apple Tree. The play was performed at St. Joseph's College on February 28 and March 1, 1975 Tickets were only $2.50.