Estonian amateur theatre

According to Statistics Estonia (Statistikaamet), there were 431 amateur theatres in Estonia in 2018, approximately 200 of them are adult groups, and the rest are school theatres. The 150-year-long tradition of amateur theatres, mostly in rural areas, has always existed as if in a parallel universe to the mostly urban located professional theatres.

The Estonian amateur theatres are generally steady organisations – 80% of them are regularly operating. The highest number of theatres are part of a larger organisation, usually a local cultural house. Fewer theatres operate as NGOs, or they have no legal status. The majority of theatres have some kind of stable income or support but it varies among theatres. The support on the local level usually means free access to rehearsal rooms provided by the local cultural house or that the local municipality is paying the salary of the artistic leader or director. Other costs are usually covered either by members or by project-based funding.

The most popular type of theatre is drama, followed by different types of comic short forms like stand-up, etc. but amateurs also make music, dance, physical and puppet theatre. The language used for performances is usually Estonian but some groups also use a dialect, some groups perform in Russian or in English.

Most amateur theatre directors do not have theatre education but amateur groups often hire professional directors for their productions. A typical group makes one production per year with rehearsals one or two times a week.

The Estonian Amateur Theatre Association has 72 groups as members and it organizes festivals, courses, and other national and international events.