The Kaunas State Drama Theatre has every right to be proud that it has originated the tradition of professional theatre in Lithuania. Its beginnings date back to the Drama and Opera playhouses established in the 1920-ies by the Lithuanian Artists' Association. The birth of the Kaunas Drama Theatre was marked by the production of Hermann Sudermann's "St. John's Day", which was directed by Juozas Vaičkus and opened on December 19, 1920 in the former Russian City Theatre (now the Kaunas State Music Theatre). It was the first and only professional theatre in the country before its Šiauliai branch was set up in 1931.