SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development

SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development is the largest performing theatre for youth in the greater St. Paul area. Their Mainstage season, which runs annually from October to July, features six all youth cast productions, many written on commission by emerging local playwrights. The exception is their annual production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! Started in 1989, it is the second longest running Christmas show in the Twin Cities. SteppingStone Theare also offers years round youth acting classes, workshops and residencies throughout the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.

Mission

SteppingStone Theatre’s mission is to “develop the whole child by using educational theatre programs and fully-staged productions to build self-esteem, confidence, and a sense of community, while celebrating diversity in a supportive, non-competitive atmosphere.”

History

SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development was founded in 1987 with two artist-in-residence programs at inner-city St. Paul schools that gave students a chance to have a participatory theatre experience. SteppingStone Theatre’s focus has been on reaching out to children and youth who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in theatre and providing them with an expanding range of educational theatre experiences.

Today, this focus is pursued through the Mainstage, Education, and Outreach Programs. In the past 9 years, led by Artistic Director Richard Hitchler, the theatre has served over 500,000 children, youth, schools and families through their six mainstage shows each year, in-school residencies, theatre classes for youth, and Community Education classes.

Notable Members

David Simmons(brother of actor J.K. Simmons)

New Home

Construction on the former Grace Community Church, located at Victoria Street in St. Paul next to William Mitchell College of Law, began February 2, 2007. SteppingStone Theatre plans to move into its new home in late 2007, to open The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! December 1.

The renovation plans include improvement of the exterior; conversion of the sanctuary into a 430-seat theatre with a proscenium-style stage equipped with modern lighting and sound capabilities; installation of an elevator for accessibility to all areas of the building; and construction of classrooms, dressing rooms and administrative offices on the lower level.

External links

* [http://www.steppingstonetheatre.org SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development]

Steppingstone theatre officially moved in to their new home on December first, 2007