The First Stage Children's Theater is a professional American children's theater based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin founded in 1987. Its season (September–June) consists of six mainstage plays and a touring production.[1]
One of the five largest children's theaters in the nation, First Stage has annual audiences of more than 135,000.The theater's performance venue is the Todd Wehr Theater, with its headquarters in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.
History
The First Stage Children's Theater, founded in 1987, was originally named First Stage Milwaukee.[2] The young theater's first season (1987–1988) showed only 3 plays, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Macbeth and The Sleeping Beauty.[3]
First Stage Theater Academy
The First Stage Theater Academy was founded in 1992 to teach life skills through stage skills. It is the teaching arm of the theater, and serves more than 2000 students annually.[4]
The First Stage Theater Academy is also home to the Young Company. The Young Company is an advanced acting troupe composed of high school actors, who perform two to three shows per year. They have an intensive focus on classical acting techniques and Shakespeare. The Young Company season for 2019-2020 consists of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, and You Can't Take It With You.[5] They hold their classes and shows in the Milwaukee Youth Art Center.