First Stage

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 50 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 nation's largest high-impact theater training program for young people. 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 over 20,000 children each year.