The Frederick H. Hughes Memorial Theatre, also called “Washington’s Little Theatre of the Deaf”, was organized on June 15, 1966 by Betty G. Miller and a group of fifteen deaf people. It was originally called the Dramatics Guild of the District of Columbia Club of the Deaf.

Douglas Burke founded the Dramatics Guild in 1959. He directed the first play called, “The Monkey’s Paw” and second play, “Salome”, and third play, “The Good Peddler”. These plays were performed at the D. C. C. D. clubhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. The fourth play, “Charley Aunt” was performed in the Chapel Hall of Gallaudet College with Gilbert C. Eastman and Charles Schreiber as the directors.

The Dramatics Guild’s first president, Alice Hagemeyer, presided from 1959 to 1960. Carol Rush was the first recording secretary and Ted Hagemeyer, the treasurer.

Over the years, the Dramatics Guild gave several performances in the D. C. area. There was a citywide tournament sponsored a One-Act play in 1962 and they invited the Dramatics Guild to enter the contest. The Dramatics Guild performed “Lithuania” and Betty G. Miller directed, winning third place, while Ralph Miller won a medal for the best performer.

The Dramatics Guild presented variety and Christmas shows from 1959 to 1964. The first Chairperson was Mrs. Beatrice Burke.

In 1966 the name “Dramatics Guild of the D. C. C. D.” was changed to “Hughes Memorial Theatre”. The founders of the new organization had originally been members of the Dramatics Guild, recognizing the need for an independent amateur theatre of the deaf.

The charter was developed primarily to provide entertainment, such as drama, pantomime, revues, etc, for deaf and hearing people in the Washington metropolitan area. Also, the Hughes Memorial Theatre’s aim was to encourage the development of the cultural and theatrical skills of deaf people.

The Hughes Memorial Theatre was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization on June 12, 1969, with meetingsheld in the Hall Memorial Building on the campus of Gallaudet College between 1966 and 1969. On August 6, 1969 they were given a space for use in Kendall Hall on the campus until in the mid 1970s.

The Hughes Memorial Theatre presented many plays from 1966 until the last play was performed in 1982. They produced two major plays during each season, in fall and spring. They also competed in the One-Act Play Tournament, sponsored by the District of Columbia’s Department of Recreation, every spring, winning several awards.

In 1980 the Hughes Memorial Theatre produced and directed an extremely well received play, “Tales from a Clubroom,” and the last play, “Oh, Stop! Oh, Stop!” was performed for the Gallaudet College alumni reunion during the summer of 1982.