A Brief History of Croton Teen Theatre
The Croton Teen Theatre is a theatre program which gives opportunities to Westchester teenagers to perform in outstanding productions. Croton Teen Theatre has deep roots in the Croton theatrical scene. it was founded by the Croton Council on the Arts in the late 1980s to continue the tradition of the Croton 
Shakespeare Festival (CSF), an organization that had been in existance for three decades. CSF had offered lessons in community-building as well as theatre arts. For two decades, Teen Theatre has kept that legacy alive to appreciative reviews.
"Each summer, the troupe puts together a full-scale musical in just under four weeks, working with professional directors, set designers, choreographers and sound engineers. The result, say Croton-on-Hudson residences, is a show that makes the village proud...The troupe's connection to theatrical professionals is evident each year in its "Broadway on Hudson" fundraisers..." 7/25/2006 Journal News (Linda Lombroso reviewing 2005 production of Seussical: The Musical).
The month of July is given to evening rehearsals, culminating in three performances of a musical. A professional theatre experience is what Croton Teen Theatre strives to give both its participants and its audience. The program is overseen by a volunteer board, but direction, musical direction, choreography, and set, light, costume, and sound design are all done under the guidance of professionals. This allows teens a different perspective from that afforded by the region's many other fine high school productions. Productions have drawn participants from many surrounding areas including Briarcliff Manor, Cortlandt Manor, Montrose, New Rochelle, Ossining, and Peekskill. This four week program builds a real sense of community, gives our teenagers a professional experience and some of our alumni are now performing professionally. Nonetheless, the real reward of the program is sharing within the community the joys of theatre and watching young people willing to devote time, effort, and talent to community effort.
Croton Teen Theatre's valuable program has also been recognized in repeated grants it has received from the Westchester Arts Council with funding from the Decentralization Program of the NYS Council on the Arts. These are typically given and used for specific purposes, such as offsetting the cost of the lighting rental or the set, or even to pay for the choreographer on a particularly dance-heavy show. The monies realized from these grants, along with the monies raised through CTT's annual fundraiser, have allowed Teen Theatre to keep its tuition very competitive with the other extra-curricular theatre programs in the area.