When Ray Bradbury joined Laraine Day's Wilshire Players Guild in 1939, he was just 18 years old and still living at home with his parents. At the time, the Guild was a popular community theater group in Los Angeles, and it offered Bradbury the opportunity to gain experience in acting, writing, and directing.
According to Bradbury's biography on his official website, he initially joined the Guild as an actor, performing in various productions and honing his skills on stage. However, he soon became disillusioned with the quality of the plays being produced and decided to try his hand at writing his material.
Bradbury's first play, titled "The Tiger," was produced by the Wilshire Players Guild in 1940, and it was a success. He went on to write several more plays for the Guild over the next few years, including "The Witch" and "The Trunk."
During his time with the Wilshire Players Guild, Bradbury also met many other aspiring actors and writers who shared his passion for the arts. These friendships would prove valuable in the years to come, as Bradbury began to establish himself as a writer and eventually published his first novel, "Fahrenheit 451," in 1953.