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OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1978, Stages makes plays
and tells stories that invite everyone to
live more deeply and love more boldly.

The common link throughout our work is a focus
on sharing compelling human stories in intimate
performance spaces that allow audiences to connect
with both the art on stage and the people who help
create it.

Stages has grown to become Houston’s sixth largest
nonprofit performing arts producer overall, and the
largest outside of Houston’s downtown theater district.
Stages is one of the region’s leading artistic employers, producing an average of 12 productions per
year totaling more than 430 performances and welcoming 75,000+ visitors each season. In January
2020, Stages opened The Gordy, a new $35.4 million three-theater venue that will transform how
Houston artists and audiences experience theater.

Almost all of Stages’ shows are rehearsed and constructed on-site in Houston, brought to life by
an exceptional community of locally-based artists and crafts people along with occasional guest
directors, actors and designers from around the world. For more than a decade Stages has made
a strong investment in nurturing emerging artists and administrators who have now become field
leaders and working professionals in companies around the country.
Stages’ learning opportunities include our student matinee series, performance and production
internship programs for college students and a conservatory each summer for middle and high school
students. Through our community engagement initiatives, during the 2019-2020 Season nearly 20%
of Stages audiences experienced our work free of charge through programs like free performances
at Miller Outdoor Theatre and Sin Muros: A Latinx Theater Festival, a celebration of Latinx voices and
stories reflecting Texas’s diverse communities.

Stages began life in the historic Magnolia Ballroom building in downtown Houston, led by Founding
Artistic Director Ted Swindley and building on the passion and commitment of a talented group of
artists. In 1985, Stages moved to a two theater facility in the historic Star Engraving Building on Allen
Parkway, and became Houston’s second Equity theatre in 1988.

Artistic Director Kenn McLaughlin joined the company in 2001, serving as Managing Director for five
years before becoming the theater’s longest-tenured artistic leader. Current Managing Director Mark
Folkes arrived in 2015, positioning Stages for a new era of transformational growth.