Newport Children's Theatre
About Us
Enriching Our Youth…on and off the stage since 1980
Our Story
In 1980, members of the community theatre group Newport Player’s Guild realized there was a lack of performing arts for children and families in Newport, and formed Newport Children’s Theatre, originally with adult actors. The following year, NCT started the very successful Summer Theatre Workshop Program, forging a relationship with St. Michael’s Country Day School that lasted almost two decades.
Impressed with the creativity of the young actors, and seeing how popular the end of session performances were, NCT officially became a “youth theatre” and began holding open auditions for young actors aged 8 and over for productions in the spring and December. By 1992, up to 90 children auditioned for each show, and Newport County Teen Repertory (NCT Rep) was formed to give experiences teen actors the change to continue learning about theatre through a series of advanced workshops, touring performances to schools, libraries and community centers, and technical theater opportunities.
Artistic Director
Tara O'Hare
Tara has performed professionally nationwide on numerous equity stages, but it was during her time working and living in NYC that she discovered her true passion for teaching and directing while volunteering at Harlem’s Children Theatre. This volunteerism led to her 15 year-long career as Artistic Director for Newport Children’s Theatre (NCT) in Rhode Island. Over the yers, she has directed and produced over 60 main stage productions, 50 intensive training workshops, and countless educational programs for nearly 3 generations of children. Her students have gone on to study theatre at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Bard College, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, ArtsED, Berklee College of Music, The New School, and her alma mater, Wagner College, where she received a degrees in Theatre & Speech, to name a few.
