Little Palm Family Theatre

Situated between West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach, Boca Raton is one of South Florida's most beautiful towns. Among its past and present residents are Iron Maiden drummer, Nicko McBrain, and prolific tennis player Andy Roddick. Despite being home to just 20,000 people, its recent historical and political importance is certainly notable: it was the site of the first anthrax attack in the USA in 2001, and is also a famous liberal stronghold, with over 60% of its votes polled for John Kerry in 2004. However, hidden underneath all of this is the Little Palm Family Theatre, a wonderful and widely applauded community theatre which is completely run by volunteers.

The idea underlying the community theatre is a popular one: all participants are amateurs; however the players are generally respected as highly as their professional thespian counterparts. The heart of the ideals enshrined in the tradition of community theatre is that it provides a forum for a wide array of amateur or aspiring artists to practice their art in a public space that everyone can access. Boca Raton's Little Palm Family Theatre has been heralded for doing exactly that in a small Florida town where theatrical opportunities may be harder to come by than its big cities.