Purpose

The purpose of Center Stage Theatre is to provide a playground for creative exploration and meaningful storytelling. By providing a space for our students to take risks in their art and collaborate with other artists, they are able to radiate their full artistic potential. At Center Stage we practice the principles of Ensemble Theatre. Some of the benefits of ensemble-based work include the creation of complex, innovative productions that showcase the talents of the entire company and the development of a strong sense of community and camaraderie among ensemble members. Our student creative team and students directors stand side by side with the adults to collaborate and create work that none of us could have created on our own. Our goal as artists is to deliberately shape and harmonize every element of a production to create a cohesive, visually striking and resonant theatrical world with the goal of providing a cathartic and engaging experience for our audience.

The Center Stage Logo:

“This is what it is to love an artist: The moon is always rising above your house. The houses of your neighbors look dull and lacking in moonlight. But he is always going away from you. Inside his head there is always something more beautiful.”

- Eurydice, Sarah Ruhl

This is what it is to be an artist. The moon is always rising above your house. To say the moon rises over center stage means that the work we are doing is meaningful to us. Light comes from work that holds meaning. That’s different for each of us. Some of us are musicians, some of us are writers, some of us are visual artists and performing artists, poets and composers, and hundreds of other creative labels that we bring to this space. That informs the work we create. When we bring those gifts together in collective collaboration around a story we find meaningful both the artists and the audience are transformed. The moon rises, we create light in our world and that is what it is to be an artist.

Mission

To nurture a collaborative space where each student is valued and empowered to find their own creative voice as they grow in empathy and understanding of the human condition through artistic training and high-quality productions that explore meaningful, experiential storytelling.

Vision

To be a leading program of excellence in creative storytelling with the aspiration of transforming young artists into compassionate, creative, and curious adults.

Values

We believe that the purpose of theatre education is to give students a playground for artistic exploration that encourages them to take creative risks in their art as they develop new work and transform existing stories through collaborative and meaningful experiential storytelling. We believe that theatre’s purpose is to hold a mirror up to society and to grant performers, technicians, and audience members the opportunity to experience our shared visual, literary, and cultural heritage; the purpose of which is to build an understanding of our culture in relation to other times and places, and a greater understanding of self and the global community as well as the value of story.

Centennial Center Stage Theatre