Our History

Children’s Theatre Association was founded in 1934 when twenty young women realized the need to provide LIVE theater to the children of San Francisco. With the backing of the Junior League and the San Francisco Opera Ballet and under the leadership of its first president, Mrs. Churchill Peters, this nonprofit association was able to reach as many children as possible by distributing 2,000 tickets to 25 charitable entities. During World War II, CTA suspended its productions in order to fully engage in the war effort by joining the activities of the Stage Door Canteen as well as providing camperships for children’s groups. In 1949 San Francisco Ballet founder, William Christensen, asked the association to sponsor his full production of The Nutcracker and Beauty and the Beast. 1952 was a turning point for CTA as it established member staffed workshops in acting, costumes, scenery, music and lighting resulting in its first member written production of Candy which was performed at the Marine‘s Memorial Theater.

In 1971, having employed professional directors, our most cherished and esteemed member, Missy Saveri, wrote the book and music for The Magic Seeds, the first of countless contemporary versions of fairy tale classics which she wrote. The 1970s saw the cast and crew trouping to schools throughout the Bay Area in order to introduce as many children as possible to the joy and appreciation of live musical theater. This trouping ended in 1981 with CTA’s partnership with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco under its cultural program for schools. This truly was a pivotal point in our history as it provided a new home for the productions in the exquisite and historical Florence Gould Theater at the Legion of Honor where we performed for many years, for free, up until 2012 when the Museum revamped its program. At that juncture, we began paying rent to perform at various theaters in San Francisco.

With two separate casts we are able to perform for school children twice a week throughout the two month run of the play. These shows are at no cost to the students and their teachers; however there also are performances on the weekends for the paying public, the proceeds from which subsidize some of our production costs. The remainder of the costs are derived from membership dues, fundraising events and foundation grants. It would be impossible to fulfill our mission without our committed members whose participation in all aspects of the productions is on a volunteer basis. Only our two professional directors, and some technical staff, earn a fee. Our important service to the community was recognized in 1998 by the Bay Area Theatre Critics when it awarded CTA with its Circle Award. In the fall of 2019, CTA’s long held dream of finding a permanent home became a reality with the complete renovation of the Presidio Theatre, thanks to the tireless efforts of its benefactor and our beloved member, Peggy Haas. In January 2020, CTA’s production of The Wizard of Oz made its debut in this state of the art venue.

Children’s Theatre Association has survived for over 80 years thanks to the charisma, vision and hard work by its founders. It continues today as a magnet to members who have found an incredible group of women whose unfailing mutual support, deep and abiding friendships and unlimited humor make every CTA gathering a cause for celebration.