More Than a Show: Growing Up at Stage Left

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There is a moment in every youth production when something changes.

For weeks, we rehearse. We learn lines and blocking. We find costumes. We build scenery. We remind people where to stand, when to enter, and—for what feels like the hundredth time—which prop they are supposed to be carrying. And then, somehow, it becomes a story. That happened this week with Charlotte’s Web.

E.B. White’s beloved story is about a pig named Wilbur and the extraordinary friend who decides his life matters. But as we watched our young actors bring Zuckerman’s barn to life, we were reminded that Charlotte’s Web is also about something we care deeply about at Stage Left: connection.

Our actors come from different schools, different communities and different levels of theatre experience. Some have been growing up on our stage. For others, this is their very first production. Here, they become a cast. They learn that sometimes they get the big speech—and sometimes their job is to listen and help someone else’s moment shine. They discover that a story needs Wilbur and Charlotte, but it also needs farmers and fairgoers, geese and sheep, storytellers and spiders.

We share the spotlight at Stage Left.

And perhaps that is one of the best things theatre can teach a young person.

You matter. Your work matters. And so does the person standing beside you.

We chose one word for each production in our 34th season. For Charlotte’s Web, that word is CONNECT.

Watching these kids together, we can't imagine a better one.

There are two more opportunities to visit Zuckerman’s barn and meet this wonderful company of young actors:

🕸️ Saturday, October 3🕸️ Sunday, October 4📍 Historic Trinity Playhouse, Lisbon

Come share the story with us.

See you at Stage Left!