History
IT ALL STARTED WITH THE BUILDING. Nestled between the shores of Lake Champlain and the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, The Depot Theatre originated out of a community-wide effort in 1978 to save the historic Westport train station (circa 1876) from demolition.
Initially, the Westport Historical Society maintained stewardship over the historic Westport train station. The Historical Society saw the potential for cultural activity in the partially renovated Delaware & Hudson train station, and they decided to begin presenting theatre in the space. They turned to a unique funding solution to accomplish that goal: Wednesday Night Bingo. Initially this venture raised the tidy sum of nearly $3,000.
In 1985, The Depot Theatre stepped out from under the Historical Society’s umbrella to become its own separate not-for-profit entity. In 1988, it became a professional theatre company operating under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
In 1995, The Depot Theatre was recognized with a Park Heritage Award from the Adirondack Council and in 2000 with an Adirondack Architectural Heritage Award which recognized major renovation and restoration work to the historical building.
Though Delaware and Hudson is no longer in operation, Amtrak continues to service rail passengers on the Adirondack Line between New York City and Montreal. The Westport stop is a primary gateway to the Adirondack Park, and the train station and the Theatre have developed a unique partnership to keep this historical space vibrantly used and maintained, as the Depot Theatre continues to be the steward of this historical site.
At present, the Town of Westport owns the station building and leases space to both the Depot Theatre and to Amtrak. The CP Rail owns the land upon which the building sits, and owns and maintains the track.
Today, The Depot Theatre is the only professional Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) affiliated theatre company in the Adirondack Park, a 6 million-acre publicly and privately held natural resource, that includes many small communities like Westport.
We are grateful to the minds and energy of people like Carol Buchanan and Shami McCormick, who were catalysts for the creation and evolution of a high-quality, live professional theatre in a historic train depot. Today, the entire Depot Theatre community embraces that metaphor, and invites all to…
“Take a journey without leaving the station.”
Depot Theatre Inc. is a 501(c)3, non-profit corporation.
P.O. Box 414, 6705 Main St, Westport, New York 12993
www.depottheatre.org
