Since its beginning in 1968, the Roberta Jones Junior Theatre, a children's theatre, connected to the Parks and Recreation Department of Santa Clara, California, has been creating child-centered performances for young audiences. This thesis will explore the history of the Santa Clara/Roberta Jones Junior Theatre and discuss the components that have contributed to its forty-year success. For a children's theatre to be successful it needs to be first centered on the learning of the children, in tune with the need of its community, and have a staff focused on the same goals. By examining the Roberta Jones Junior Theatre, the intension is to give a picture of its organizational structure, an analysis of its guiding principles, and how the author proposes to use it as a model for a children's theatre in the future.