I've only just performed at this venue one time so far, but it is absolutely fantastic. They put on great productions, and I love to see a theater in the area actually embrace the "community" part of community theater.
An incredible nonprofit community theater company.
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Forest Theatre Guild does so much for our community. Not only preserve one of the oldest outdoor theaters in the United States, but also promotes culture and events for the greater Carmel community by providing low cost entertainment options in a living museum-Outdoor Forest Theater. The Board and Staff are community members who only want to make this a better place through culture and history. Thank you Forest Theatre Guild!
This group is top notch! Worked this summer with them and it was a wonderful experience. Please support this theatre group
Growing up, my experience with the Forest Theatre Guild included watching fabulous shows, carrying a picnic basket with wine and cheese in and enjoying (oh and hot chocolate with schnapps is good too) with family and friends. No wonder when a dear friend asked me to join the Board, I did in a flash and with an overhaul of the old administration, the new Board (and especially with our Executive Director, Yvonne) has worked endlessly to rebuild this wonderful theatre as a welcoming haven for our community. As current President, I can say with certainty that we are indeed very proud of the Forest Theatre Guild and its commitment to the sharing the arts with all. Thank you!
The Forest Theater Guild is amazing!! My daughter started Theater at 5 years old. It is her passion and the time she has spent with the Guild have been some of her best!!! After almost 40 shows she always wants to be part of their shows every summer. The devotion and time put in by Yvonne and all her staff is countless hours of love and passion .... Thank you for all you do, you are truly an amazing group !!
I have worked with The Forest Theater Guild for 5 years and a board member for 3 years. I came to the Forest Theater Guild with no experience in performing arts and over the past 5 years have learned to love the theater.
The Forest Theater Guild helps to foster the growth of children. No child is turned away. I have watched children on stage blossom, gain self- confidence, and acquire leadership skills that can be used throughout their lives. It is a very fulfilling experience to watch a child’s face light up when they realize they love the theater.
Over the years The Forest Theater Guild has given back to the community, most recently Animal Friends Rescue Project, and to our returning veterans who were given a special preview of one of our live performances along with a BBQ dinner.
The Forest Theater Guild is a community theater that benefits the people in our community.
The Guild, in one form or another, has been around since the early 1900’s; the oldest community theater on the Monterey Peninsula and one of the oldest operating outdoor theaters west of the Mississippi, or so I have been told. I became involved with the Guild when my daughter decided that the stage was her home away from home. Being a backstage mom, led to costume helper, led to becoming a board member, which led to becoming a volunteer interim Executive Director. I am proud to say that my daughter is 4th generation to perform on the Forest Theater stage, having been on stage since the age of 4 and now a teenager, she is serving as a Junior Advisory Board Member in a new program we started to teach the next generation how to be good stewards of our organization. It has been rewarding, challenging, inspiring, hard, sad at times, mostly fun and an experience I don’t think I would trade for anything. What started out as a short term labor of love has turned into a full time passion, rewarded by the smiles of young people when they experience their first performance in front of an audience, by the tears when a coveted role is won by another and then the realization that the role they received was in fact right for them. It is in the applause from a grateful audience and the high five from a crew member when we know we nailed. It is the thank you from a parent or grandparent or the note from a long time summer visitor…it is all of these things and so much more. It is an honor to work with the best actors and actresses, directors, scenic designers, musicians, vocal directors, dancers and choreographers, lighting and sound designers and artists and technicians that our Monterey Peninsula has to offer… all coming together as true community theater…to teach and share and learn. I feel as though this organization has taught me a great deal about what it means to be a part of the community and how together we can do the seemingly impossible. The programs that we have, the needs we fill, the ability to build dreams and encourage others to do the same is simply outstanding. When you watch someone start with just a little spark and follow their dream until it blossoms into a reality is amazing. We work with all ages, all backgrounds, all experience levels and we all learn from each other, building something greater than what we are alone. “The stars are out, the fires are lit and the sky is the limit!” is a quote from a former Exec Dir and poet that really says it all… about who we are and what we do at the Forest Theatre Guild.
I have been involved with the Forest Theatre Guild on and off since the early 1980's. Throughout the years there have been so many talented and wonderful people involved in the programs whom have all enriched my life by sharing their knowledge and experiences of the theater with me.
In the early days it was extra curricular scholastic programs which the Guild worked with when I was in Carmel Middle School and then Carmel High School. This afforded me the opportunity to explore my love of the theater both behind the scenes as a tech and on stage as a budding thespian.
After having drifted away from the theater for some years I found the guild again while doing classes at MPC. I worked then as a tech and began to learn about the magic of theater sound affects and lighting. For years the Forest Theater Guild provided a great venue for me to practice these skills and continue to learn. It was always a positive and nurturing environment that helped me grow as a tech and as a person.
Then I was invited to go to a board meeting and this led to me having the amazing opportunity of serving on the board and being involved with all facets of the guild. It was here that I realized how much a part of the whole community of Carmel and of the greater Monterey County area that the Forest Theatre Guild truly is.
My term as a board member has now ended and being a father has kept me from stage (for now) but I cherish all the time that I was blessed with involved with such a great group! For now I support as can, whether it is going to a production or making a donation or taking a few minutes to share with someone how special this amazing nonprofit company is. My love and regards to all, I will be back soon!
The Forest Theater Inc is TRUE Community Theater. All who are willing to learn are welcomed. They have taken my daughter and I on for two seasons now and showed us the ropes, front and back. Thank you for accepting us with no knowledge but a willingness to learn.
I've worked with the Forest Theatre guild since 1990 and am an ardent supporter. Not being very rich all I've been able to afford to give is my time. The programs that I've participated in have always stressed the community connection and the support of younger artists. Early on we provided an apprentice program for budding Stagehands and Designers. As time moved on the programs became more young performer/audience oriented. As a member of the Board in the 2000's the Guild faltered and there was fear of its ultimate demise, but the Board reorganized and obtained the services of a volunteer Executive Director who embodies all of the qualities of the Guild's mission statement, and who pulled it out of the mire and back into its purpose. Now they are once again the community's theatre, not competing with more commercial or educational theaters, but choosing and producing programs that directly benefit the people that live in the area. They truly deserve all of our support.
I have worked for the Forest Theater Guild for the past two years and each summer has been such a joy. To come into a space and feel welcomed and heard is so refreshing here on the peninsula. In all honesty, I would not be where I am today without the Forest Theater Guild.
Three years ago I started a small theater company called Paraphrase Productions. That first year was so hard for me as we tried to get shows off the ground. I had the drive and the ambition but no one could see it. After our Saturday Matinee of Little Shop of Horrors the Executive Director of the Forest Theater Guild, Yvonne, came up and said that she could see the drive and the passion. Where so many other people had closed doors and disregarded me because of my age, the Forest Theater Guild welcomed me in and helped me create a new environment for theater on the Peninsula.
Since our first partnership in 2016 to produce Addams Family: A New Musical my relationship with the Forest Theater Guild has grown into a perfect partnership. I am so blessed to be working with such an amazing team that supports me and uplifts me.
Because of the Forest Theater Guild, I have been able to grow and perfect my art and my craft. Their constant support and words of encouragement have been what's kept me going and kept me believing in theater.
The Forest Theater Guild has proven themselves to be one of the greatest catalysts of positive change in a stagnate theater circle and throughout it all has never forgotten the true collaborative and uplifting art of theater.