The Burl-Oak Theatre Group was established in 1976 with a small but enthusiastic nucleus of people who valued the arts in general and putting on plays in particular. They wanted an outlet for their dramatic and organizational talents and to give back to the community by providing enjoyable entertainment with a local flavour.
Burl-Oak’s first presentation was a workshop production of four one-act plays performed at Sheridan College in Oakville, followed by Plaza Suite at the same venue. We then moved over to Nelson High School in Burlington to perform Barefoot in the Park.
In 1977, after a week of official ceremonies, the group opened the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts with The Odd Couple. Even at that early stage, Burl-Oak was developing a reputation for comedy. For a change of pace we presented Murder in Company at Hopedale Church.
From that time onward, all of our productions have been mounted at the Oakville Centre. Check out our History.
Our members are encouraged to become involved in all aspects of theatre, to improve their skills by attending workshops, and putting the knowledge gained to good use. Most of our productions are directed by our own members.
In 1979, we combined with The Oakville Players and Everyman Theatre Company in a subscription series of seven plays and opened the Oakville Drama Series’ first season with Private Lives.
In 2012, the Burl-Oak Theatre Group re-launched itself as an indepdendent community theatre group. We will continue to perform our three annual mainstage plays at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. But we are now free to mount additional productions at the new Black Box Theatre in the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre.
BOTG has been awarded an Ontario Trillium Grant to support us.
