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The Colchester Theatre Company is a high school Theatre troupe in Colchester, Vermont, founded in 1977 by John B. Coon. It has been nominated for and presented with various awards for talent, effort, and commitment.
The Colchester Theatre Company has fallen into a tradition of performing three shows each year, one in the fall, one in the winter, and one in the spring.
While the Theatre Company does perform musicals, they tend to be performed in the fall, since many scheduling conflicts arise between the Theatre Company and the school's Music Department because of various local music festivals during the spring months. However, as no musicals had been performed between 2004 and 2006, an extra effort was made to perform two musicals in the 2006–2007 season: Footloose, and the hit Broadway musical, Grease. Multiple years since have included more than one musical because of the evident popularity of musicals among the school population.
A concept that sits at the foundation of the Colchester Theatre Company's structure is that of ensemble. Casting is based on the way that people interact as the characters in the audition and not on the director's preference of one person over another. There is no distinguishing line between actors and technicians. Those who do not get parts are encouraged, but not required, to perform technical jobs, such as properties, costumes, lighting, sounds, special effects, or advertising, for the show being performed. It gives a good understanding to those participating of how important everyone in a theatre company is to a successful show.
The Colchester Theatre Company has in the past hosted an annual no-charge Haunted Forest on the night before Halloween (commonly known as cabbage night) sponsored by the Colchester Police Department. According to the police, the Haunted Forest has greatly reduced the number of cabbage night crimes.
Also, the Colchester Theatre Company typically performs a dinner theatre performance once a year for the Colchester Winter Carnival, usually a "whodunit" murder mystery with audience participation.
From 2001 to 2005, the Colchester Theatre Company hosted an annual non-competitive One-Act Festival called the Champlain Theatre Experience, under the joint guidance of John Coon of Colchester High School and Rod Ross of Winooski High School.
In winter 2014, John B. Coon extended his philosophy of teaching educational theatre to create a learning experience for members of the company. Coon advised students in directing one of three one-act plays: The Fisherman and His Wife, 15-Minute Hamlet, and The Actor's Nightmare.