Theater 150 started in 1996 as a dream of Kim Maxwell and Dwier Brown to pass on their professional performing skills to the community of Ojai. They opened an acting studio in an abandoned pool hall and starting with just a few students, they began to impart their training – but more importantly their belief that theater arts can elevate the soul – to more and more students as word of their teaching spread. In 1997, they co-founded the Ojai Playwright’s Conference. They also began to collect an ensemble of professional actors who put on staged readings, then produced a solo-series and finally mounted their first play, True West, in 1997. Sam Shepard attended and said, “Theater 150 is a gem. Their production of True West was one of the best I’ve ever seen.” Volunteers came by the dozens to fan the flames and soon a Board of Directors was formed to incorporate the burgeoning group as a CA non-profit theater that has become the artistic home for hundreds of Ojai residents.