Chester Theatre Company, founded in 1990 by Vincent Dowling and H. Newman Marsh, is a professional theatre company located in the foothills of the Berkshires. CTC produces 4-5 plays each summer and fall, performed by top-flight actors, directors and designers from across the country. Performances take place in the intimate setting of the ChesterTown Hall. Over the years, The Miniature Theatre of Chester, as it was then known, grew from “little miracle of the Berkshires” (The Berkshire Eagle) to a company that “has produced a record that can rival the best the area has to offer.” (The Boston Globe)

Under the leadership of current Artistic Director Byam Stevens, CTC has earned a reputation for producing the best in contemporary theatre. CTC productions have consistently won top honors with area critics. But the success of our productions is not strictly local -- CTC productions including: The Dishwashers (2008), The Bully Pulpit (2007), Duet For One (2006), Two Rooms (2006), The Retreat from Moscow (2005), Tea for Three (2004), Valley Song (2001), The Double Bass (2000) and A Moon For the Misbegotten (2000) have gone on to Off Broadway engagements and regional, national, and international tours. Truly, CTC "consistently delivers plays that grip the soul and fire the imagination." (The Valley Advocate).

Acclaim for CTC programs is not limited to the Main Stage. In 2005, the company launched an educational outreach program that has two main components.

Random Acts, Michael Dowling’s hip, funny, hard-hitting play, commissioned by CTC to address hazing, bullying and coercive behavior in adolescents, has toured to high schools and middle schools across western Massachusetts, winning the praise of educators and students alike.

The Gateway Playwriting Project and The Camp Shepard Project are after-school playwriting programs that teams middle school playwrights with professional actors, directors and designers to create new works performed before the general public. This innovative program received the 2006 Champions of Arts Education Award from the Massachusetts Alliance of Arts Educators, and was named a Creative Teaching Partner by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.