About Stagedoor 43 Productions
On the morning of June 29th, 1940, Orson Welles stood at the center of the Paramount lot and yelled, "Action!" The very first scene for RKO 281, better known as Citizen Kane, was underway. Welles was only 25 years old at the time, but he was wise enough to understand that if he was to have success, he needed to surround himself not only with extremely talented creatives, but true collaborators.
History hasn’t been kind to Welles, but if you are to read articles and books from back in the time of Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, you’ll find that those who worked closely with Welles are quick to praise him as someone who not only solicited the opinions of others, but yielded to them. In short, he embraced the collaborative spirit.
It is with this spirit in mind with which StageDoor43 Productions was created. As a singer, actor, now director/producer, I have experienced the challenges and frustrations associated with living a creative life. What I’ve learned over the years is that connections, support and affirmative energy matter equally to honing one’s craft. In addition to providing master classes from theater professionals from around the country, this platform is designed to provide open acting/singing opportunities as well as an extremely positive and collaborative environment conducive to the success of every show, song or theater regardless of geography or experience.
Our Mission
We at StageDoor Theater Company believe that all people deserve easy access to the arts and the community benefits that they foster. StageDoor Theater Company's mission is to break down barriers that separate the masses from live theater by bringing the very best in performance, design, and collaboration to unconventional venues and undeserved destinations to reach the widest audience possible.
StageDoor Theater creates high-quality theater and delivers our work directly to communities to expand the reach of impactful, professional performing arts. We implement a bold approach to our productions that connects audiences and artists through vibrant and enlightening experiences to transform the way theater is created and consumed.
Our Approach
We see theater as a democratic art form. We believe that theater does not live in the academy but in the streets. Unfortunately, professional theater in this country has been contracted to a handful of geographic locations, leaving the impression that it is the exclusive domain of the elite. We want to battle the misconception. Like the traveling medieval troupes that brought their shows from the cities to the villages on the back of a wagon, we load up our truck and bring the theater to the people. We are not in the business of discriminating. Our repertoire includes the classical and the contemporary, the celebrated and the obscure. Our taste tends toward sets that are simple, characters that provoke, and language that resonates. Anything that does not fit in the truck gets left behind.
StageDoor works with central Kansas-based talent to develop a diverse range of high quality theater. These productions serve the rural communities, and then tour in order to share all that StageDoor has to offer, with audiences that crave the performing arts.