Open Stage Harrisburg

Mission

Open Stage of Harrisburg is a regional professional theatre and educational program dedicated to supporting a company of artists to present diverse offerings of thought-provoking theatre and educational activities in intimate settings.

Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary Season!

Open Stage of Harrisburg was founded in 1983 by Donald Alsedek (Artistic Director), Marianne Fischer (Managing Director), and Anne Alsedek (Studio/School Director) as a response to the 1982 Mayor’s Task Force for the Arts for Harrisburg Report, which cited a need for theatre of a higher quality in the area. With a strategic planning grant from the Greater Harrisburg Foundation, Open Stage was founded. The theatre has been located in the Walnut Street Parking Garage, in the heart of downtown Harrisburg, since 1992.

Open Stage presents plays that appeal to audiences who enjoy challenges beyond mainstream theatre offerings. Recent seasons have included such productions as THE FANTASTICKS by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS by Mark Brown, John Patrick Shanley’s DOUBT, BETRAYAL by Harold Pinter and the FLYING SOLO FESTIVAL , a yearly festival of plays for solo performers.

Beginning in 2000 the theatre initiated its program of annual productions for student and adult audiences of Wendy Kesselman’s adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL was added to that program in 2001. Both productions are presented at Whitaker Center in downtown Harrisburg,

Open Stage was commissioned to create and present an original “drama of the community” piece based on the stories and experiences of immigrant and refugee women in Central PA. Titled STORY CIRCLE, the piece played to capacity audiences.

In addition, the theatre continued to support a thriving, growing and extensive education program, including Studio/School programs, the Capital Area School for the Arts, School-Day Matinees, and audience educational activities.

The Studio/School at Open Stage was founded in 1985, one year before the theatre began producing plays. Embracing the philosophical mission of the theatre, and the belief that acting is a skill learned through study and practice, the Studio/School remains integral to the theatre’s operation. It continued to offer and to expand its year-round sequential classes and performance opportunities for adults and students from grades K-12. Its curriculum is tied to national and Pennsylvania standards in arts education, and the majority of its staff are certified teachers, two with Master’s degrees in Educational Theatre.

Founded in 2001 through a partnership between the Capital Area Intermediate Unit and Open Stage of Harrisburg, the Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA) offers intensive instruction in visual art, dance, music, theatre, and film and video to qualified high school students in the CAIU. Located in the heart of downtown Harrisburg, the school uses the city as its "classroom", affording its students access to the numerous resources located downtown, and utilizing a yearly theme based on the urban environment. The school's Vision Statement reads:
"The Capital Area School for the Arts will be the significant and innovative provider of multidisciplinary arts education to school entities throughout the area. It will attract the most talented and motivated students and be a model for arts education."

Open Stage of Harrisburg is a professional, non-profit regional theatre dedicated to presenting thought-provoking plays and community-wide educational outreach programs.

Goals

Open Stage of Harrisburg seeks not only to produce contemporary drama that is unavailable in the Capital Region, but also to link its production with an on-going educational outreach to audiences from across Central Pennsylvania.

The Theatre partners with local and regional groups to maximize the impact of its productions.

Open Stage endeavors to promote the development of new scripts.

In the last twenty-two years of its operation, the Theatre has regularly premiered
new scripts beginning with ELIZABETH AT 33, WINTERSTORM, and, most recently, Karen Gray's OH CRAP I FORGOT TO HAVE KIDS, THE GONE CHAIR by Sean Lewis and STORY CIRCLE:Coming to America in the 21st Century developed by immigrant women who live in the Harrisburg community.

Open Stage's Education Program strives to positively affect the lives of the citizens in Central Pennsylvania and to promote the arts education for all.

A program of school matinees, school residencies, interactives, and in-service teacher training are among the many activities this vibrant educational outreach uses to positively influence the lives of its audiences.

WOMEN WHO CARE AWARD

Initiated in 2000 by the Open Stage of Harrisburg Education Department, the “Women Who Care “ program honors women who have demonstrated unselfish devotion to the Greater Harrisburg community and to the arts, including Open Stage. Many of the women, though not all, are “unsung heroines” whose names are not instantly recognized by the community, but who have none the less contributed significantly to the welfare of the citizens of the area. Nearly 60 women have been honored since the program’s inauguration.

The theatre hosts an annual “Women Who Care” Luncheon held in the Spring at Felicita Resort, where the women are formally presented to the community. The luncheon this year will be held on April 29, 2010. Friends and family are invited to celebrate the accomplishments of the women, and be entertained by actors and singers from Open Stage. Proceeds from the luncheon benefit both the theatre and the “Women Who Care” program. The awards are presented before each Friday night performance of the theatre’s FLYING SOLO Festival in June.

About Open Stage of Harrisburg

Mission

Goals