In summer 2014, I started a theatre company with a local playwright. There are a lot of small theatre companies in Atlanta, and we wanted ours to stand out. From a kernal of an idea to produce our first play outdoors at the Dunwoody Nature Center sprouted Found Stages.

 

The name Found Stages stems from the concept of using found space and found objects to create plays. As a theatre company that uses spaces, like the Dunwoody Nature Center, just as they are, Found Stages sums up our physical aesthetic. The tag line "New Plays, No Walls" is inspired by the notion of moving outside the literal and abstract "walls" of traditional theatre.

 

As a founder of the company, I chose the name, coined the tag line, and wrote our mission and vision statements (below). Our goal was to put up a production that got people excited, especially people who weren't already our friends. We succeeded. Two of the six performances of our innagural production sold to capacity, with many of our audience members being first-time theatre-goers.