Founded in 1954 with about 25 members, we rehearsed in members’ homes, built sets in garages and stored costumes in attics while performing in local halls and schools. In 1961, we moved into a converted service garage off Yonge Street with a 97-seat auditorium. Then, in 1971, club members raised funds and hammers to create our current facility at the corner of Newkirk and Elgin Mills in Richmond Hill, which opened in 1972.
The Royal Canadian Air Farce broadcasted its first few seasons in our new theatre in the early 1970′s.
In the 80’s, we expanded our facility to increase our workshop and lobby space and, in 2009, we took on a $1.2 million dollar expansion and renovation to update our theatre for accessibility, more washrooms, larger kitchen and improved heating and air conditioning systems.
The Curtain Club has long been a proud supporter of Theatre Ontario and has represented ACT-CO (Association of Community Theatres – Central Ontario) as the best production sent to compete in the annual Theatre Ontario Festival with winning productions from the other provincial regions. Our winning productions have included – Filthy Rich (Oshawa, 2003); Staff Room (Sault Ste. Marie, 2004 -awarded Outstanding Festival Production); Marvin’s Room (Belleville, 2005- awarded Outstanding Festival Production); Proof (Sarnia, 2006); December Man (North Bay, 2011); Lenin’s Embalmers (Sarnia, 2014); The Drowning Girls (North Bay, 2016). We have also hosted the Festival twice bringing the best provincial productions to our audience here in Richmond Hill.
The Club is proud to give back to our community by offering a Charity Night performance to each show for a local York Region Charity and each year we offer the Cicely Thomson Scholarship to a local student who is continuing their education in the arts.
As a 100% volunteer organization, we are extremely proud of the many people who have volunteered their time and energy making The Curtain Club one of the best community theatres in Canada. Thank you!
Playbills 1954 – today
Click here to view our productions over the years.