The first winning play was "Master Dudley by Philip Johnson, performed by the Pyrford Little Theatre.

As such, most of the leading local theatre and drama groups in the Surrey area belong to the WDA, as well as from further afield across the south of England.

Outside of the annual drama festival, the WDA works as a focal point for local theatre groups and as a point of reference for directors looking for on-stage talent, backstage; props; costumes or set building.

[3] The festival is held in Woking, Surrey, in the Rhoda McGaw Theatre (within The Ambassadors, Peacock Centre).

Over the years the Woking Festival has grown to become "one of the largest drama competitions in the British Isles and certainly one of the most respected for its quality of performance".