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FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

While this past year has been
tremendously difficult in so many
ways for us as theater-makers,
good things have also come as
we’ve played in new spaces and
explored new technologies. One
of the most wonderful discoveries
this past year was a program

called Stages Studio Sessions.

This performance series, curated by Associate Artistic Director Mitchell Greco, features
a different Houston-based artist weekly in a one-hour showcase. The series was originally
conceived as a safe way to bring artists and audiences back together at The Gordy. Our
plan was for the series to launch with performances in July 2020. That was then pushed to
the beginning of August as we saw COVID transmission peak in June. Eventually we knew
gathering audiences in person was not going to be responsible but we wanted to honor the
commitment to our artists and audiences so we pivoted to an exclusively online model. The
eight-week series was a tremendous hit with thousands of Houstonians tuning in to watch
the weekly performances. Over 40% of those audiences were brand new to Stages!

As we pivoted plans for early 2021 recognizing we would not be able to produce theater
in person quite yet, we knew that Stages Studio Sessions was top of the list to make an
appearance featuring a new line-up of Houston artists.

We are tremendously grateful for Principal Guarantor The Meadows Foundation and Producer
George C. Lancaster for their generous support that has made this work possible. In addition
to lead support to engage artists and produce the series, The Meadows Foundation also made
an investment in the high definition recording equipment that has been used throughout the
season for all of our digital programming, in addition to a thrilling new 20’ x 10’ LED video
wall that we are using for weekly outdoor screenings of Stages Studio Sessions on The Brown
Foundation Lawn for invited subscribers and supporters.
Thank you for staying with us during this time. We can’t wait to be together again in person at
The Gordy and are hopeful that will happen in the months ahead.
In the meantime, take a moment to enjoy these remarkable diverse Houston artists and
celebrate the tremendous work our community has produced over this past year. #resilience
Many thanks,

Mark Folkes
Managing Director