Main Street Theatre Company expands to year-round performances, launches youth training program
Courtesy of Main Street Theatre Company
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was the first performance from the Main Street Theatre Company at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown. In January, the local company will present “A Chorus Line.”
Courtesy of Main Street Theatre Company
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was the first for the newly-formed Main Street Theatre Company at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown.
For the Herald-Standard
The Main Street Theatre Company, formerly Summer at the State, has a new name to reflect its expansion into year-round shows and has launched a training program for students.
“We got to the point where we felt we were ready to grow and expand, and now we’re doing a full season,” said Director John Wagner.
The company launched in 2014 with summer-only performances at the State Theatre in Uniontown and expanded to four shows in the 2022-2023 season. They also opened the Main Street Theatre Youth Company to train kids ages 8 and up in musical theater, and launched two training workshops for children and teens.
“Part of our mission is that we believe the arts should be accessible to every city, no matter the size. It’s our mission to make sure that these exist in smaller areas like Uniontown,” Wagner said.
They chose the new name, in part, as a tribute to small towns and their main streets. The theater company also gets its name for its location on Main Street at the State Theatre. Wagner said rural areas rarely have their own musical theater companies, but they often have a Main Street. Youth in small towns often have limited opportunities to explore the arts and musical theater, he said.
“I definitely think it fills a void within the area. We have so many dance studios in the area, but nothing that’s focused on musical theater,” he said.
The Main Street Theatre Youth Company is a yearlong program with weekly courses in acting, singing and movement, and weekly rehearsals for their year-end MST Youth Company Revue. Wagner said 11 children joined the company, and about 15 to 20 children attend their two workshops on musical theater technique and musical theater dance.
Wagner said he saw great interest in their training and workshops, and he hopes to expand their educational offerings in the future.
They wrapped up their first show under the new name in October, a comedy called “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” As soon as the show ended, they were gearing up for auditions for their next show, “A Chorus Line,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that explores the personal lives and ambitions of Broadway performers. The Main Street Theatre Company will present the show Jan. 27-29.
They will also have two shows in July, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Kinky Boots.”
Wagner said they will use donations to fund their performances, which can be costly.
“There’s a lot that goes into our productions,” he said.
That includes buying the rights to the musicals, buying or renting costumes for each of the performers, buying or renting lighting, hiring musicians and sometimes hiring costume designers and set designers.
“Hopefully, we’ll be doing the same thing with our revue for the company kids. We want to make sure that they have the tools they need so they’re proud of the product that they’ve created,” he said.
For more information, visit https://www.mstcuniontown.org/.