Celebrating its 25th anniversary in the 2011-2012 season, First Stage has grown to become one of the nation’s most acclaimed children’s theaters and the second largest theater company in Milwaukee. First Stage touches hearts and transforms lives through professional theater productions that engage, enlighten and entertain. Committed to new play development, First Stage has presented nearly 40 world premieres in its history and has collaborated with renowned artists including Harry Connick Jr. and Stephen Schwartz, and award-winning authors Lois Lowry and Cornelia Funke. Its Theater Academy, teaching life skills through stage skills, is the largest theater training program of its kind in the nation. As Wisconsin’s leader in arts-in-education programming, First Stage’s dynamic Theater in Education programs promote active learning in our schools and our community, serving nearly 20,000 children each year.
View First Stage's special anniversary section published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 9, 2011.
Mission Statement:
First Stage touches hearts, engages minds, and transforms lives by creating extraordinary theater experiences for young people and families through
- Professional Theater productions that inspire, enlighten, and entertain
- Unparalleled Theater Academy training that fosters life skills through stage skills
- Dynamic Theater in Education programs that promote active learning in our schools and community