Northern Stage

Northern Stage is a professional nonprofit theater company serving the Upper Valley region from its home in White River Junction, Vermont. Founded in 1997 by Brooke Wetzel Ciardelli, the company developed as a year-round regional theater presenting professionally produced plays, musicals, classics, comedies, dramas, and new works. It is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres at the LORT-D level, placing it within the American regional theater system while reflecting the scale and operating context of a smaller professional company. For more than fifteen years, Northern Stage presented performances at the historic Briggs Opera House. A major institutional transition began after Ciardelli left the organization in 2013, when the board appointed Carol Dunne as Producing Artistic Director. Dunne, working with Managing Director Eric Bunge, led the fundraising and development effort for a permanent performance and arts facility in the historic downtown district of White River Junction. The resulting Barrette Center for the Arts opened in October 2015. Its principal theater is a 240-seat modified-thrust venue and became Northern Stage's primary performance space. The facility gave the company a permanent base for its mainstage seasons, education programs, public events, and new-play development work. Northern Stage's artistic program combines established repertory with contemporary work. Its regular mainstage schedule generally runs from September through May and brings together theater professionals from Vermont, the wider region, and across the United States. Artists associated with productions may have Broadway, national touring, regional theater, or other professional credits. Alongside productions of recognizable plays and musicals, the company has emphasized world premieres and works in development, helping position itself as an ambitious cultural institution rather than solely as a presenter of established titles. New play development became a central part of the company's identity through New Works Now, launched by Dunne in 2014. Initially organized as an annual workshop festival culminating in public readings, the program invited playwrights, performers, directors, and dramaturgs to collaborate on new plays and musicals. It later evolved toward workshops distributed across the theater season. Some projects have progressed from readings at Northern Stage to mainstage productions and, in certain cases, to further life in New York or elsewhere. The program supports the company's stated interest in giving audiences access to unfamiliar stories and giving artists a structured environment for experimentation. Education and community engagement are equally important parts of Northern Stage's operating model. The company offers programs for children, teenagers, adults, schools, and families, taught or mentored by working theater professionals. Activities include youth acting ensembles, summer camps and intensives, musical theater training, Shakespeare and storytelling programs, and adult learning opportunities. The Youth Ensemble Studio, commonly known as YES, develops young performers through multiple presentations during the season, including a fall showcase, a winter production, and a larger spring production. The Summer Musical Theater Intensive gives students aged approximately 12 to 18 an extended rehearsal and performance experience culminating in a fully staged musical. BridgeUP: Theater in the Schools is a signature outreach initiative. Through classroom residencies, professional teaching artists work with students on Shakespeare, singing, choreography, and public performance. The residency concludes with a presentation at the Barrette Center for the Arts, allowing students and families to experience a professional theater environment. Taken together, Northern Stage's productions, artist development, education, and outreach activities reach tens of thousands of community members annually. In the years following the opening of the Barrette Center, Northern Stage also became associated with broader leadership and access initiatives in American theater. Dunne received a 2017 Genius Grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation and subsequently became the inaugural leader of the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle, which was established to help address career gaps affecting women in theater leadership. The company continues to operate as a regional cultural organization under Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne and Managing Director Jason Smoller, while pursuing long-term capacity-building projects that include housing for artists and artisans and an endowment intended to support future artistic, educational, and community work.

Northern Stage was established in 1997 by Brooke Wetzel Ciardelli as a professional theater company serving Vermont's Upper Valley. During its early years, the organization staged performances at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction, a historic venue that served as its home for more than fifteen years. The company developed a year-round identity through professionally produced seasons and a combination of artistic, educational, and community programs. A leadership and infrastructure transition took place in 2013. Following Ciardelli's departure, the board selected Carol Dunne as Producing Artistic Director. Dunne and Managing Director Eric Bunge then undertook a major fundraising and capital project to create a permanent home for Northern Stage in the historic downtown district of White River Junction. The Barrette Center for the Arts opened in October 2015. The facility includes a 240-seat modified-thrust theater and became the company's principal venue for mainstage work and related activities. The reported construction cost was $7.4 million. Dunne launched New Works Now in 2014 as an initiative focused on developing new plays and musicals. The original structure centered on workshops and public readings presented as an annual festival. The program brought together playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, actors, and audiences during the development process. Over time, New Works Now moved toward workshops scheduled throughout the theater season. Northern Stage has described the initiative as part of its broader commitment to new American theater, and projects developed through the program have in some cases advanced to mainstage or later professional productions. The company's mainstage seasons generally run from September through May. Programming includes world premieres, classics, comedies, dramas, musicals, and contemporary works. Northern Stage draws artists from Vermont and other parts of the United States, including theater professionals with Broadway, regional theater, and national touring experience. Its LORT-D status connects the organization to the professional League of Resident Theatres structure while retaining a strong regional and community focus. Education and outreach have remained integral to the company's history. Northern Stage provides programs for students of different ages as well as adult learners, with instruction from professional theater practitioners. Its offerings include summer camps focused on Shakespeare, dance, singing, musical theater, and storytelling; the four-week Summer Musical Theater Intensive for students approximately 12 to 18 years old; and the Youth Ensemble Studio, which develops and presents several pieces during the season. BridgeUP: Theater in the Schools places teaching artists in area classrooms for residencies combining text, music, movement, and performance. Students conclude the program with a presentation at the Barrette Center, connecting school-based learning with the company's professional venue. Northern Stage's institutional profile broadened during Carol Dunne's tenure. In 2017, Dunne received a Genius Grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation for work in theater arts. She later became the inaugural leader of the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle, an initiative intended to help women advance into senior positions in American theater. The initiative was associated with the development of leaders including Tamilla Woodard, Rachel Karpf, Sarah Rasmussen, Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, Jess Chayes, Susan Booth, and Christina Baldwin. The company remains active as a professional regional theater under Dunne and Managing Director Jason Smoller. Its longer-term institutional planning has included developing housing for visiting artists and artisans and building an endowment to support sustainable artistic production, education, and community engagement. Northern Stage's present identity therefore rests on four connected functions: producing theater, developing new work, training young people, and maintaining cultural access for the Upper Valley.

• 2017

  Carol Dunne receives a Genius Grant

  [1]Northern Stageen.wikipedia.org

  Dunne received a Genius Grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation for achievements in theater arts.

• 2015

  Barrette Center for the Arts opens

  [1]Northern Stageen.wikipedia.org

  The company opened its 240-seat modified-thrust home in downtown White River Junction in October.

• 2014

  New Works Now launched

  [1]Northern Stageen.wikipedia.org

  Northern Stage began its new-play development program through workshops and public readings of plays and musicals.

• 2013

  Carol Dunne becomes Producing Artistic Director

  [1]Northern Stageen.wikipedia.org

  After Ciardelli's departure, the board appointed Carol Dunne to lead the company's artistic and institutional development.

• 1997

  Northern Stage founded

  [1]Northern Stageen.wikipedia.org

  Brooke Wetzel Ciardelli founded Northern Stage as a professional nonprofit theater company in Vermont's Upper Valley.

A year-round professional regional theater that combines artistically ambitious mainstage programming with new-work development, youth training, school partnerships, and community access.

• Professional theater

  Main Stage Productions

  Northern Stage's principal performance program presents full professional productions at the Barrette Center for the Arts, generally from September through May. The repertory spans world premieres, new works, classics, comedies, dramas, and musicals. Productions are mounted with artists from Vermont and elsewhere in the United States, including performers and creative personnel with Broadway, national touring, and regional theater experience.

• New-play development · 2014

  New Works Now

  New Works Now supports the creation of new plays and musicals through readings, workshops, and development opportunities involving playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, performers, and audiences. It began in 2014 as an annual workshop festival and later shifted toward a series of workshops distributed through the theater season. Selected projects may develop toward mainstage presentation or subsequent professional production.

• School outreach

  BridgeUP: Theater in the Schools

  BridgeUP places professional teaching artists in area classrooms for intensive theater residencies. Students work with Shakespearean text, songs, choreography, and public speaking, then conclude the residency with a performance at the Barrette Center for the Arts. The program connects classroom learning with professional artistic practice and family participation.

• Youth theater training

  Youth Ensemble Studio (YES)

  YES is a youth performance and training program in which young actors develop, rehearse, and present multiple pieces over the season. Its activities include a fall showcase, a winter White Box production, and a larger spring production that may take the form of Shakespeare or a musical.

• Youth theater training

  Summer Musical Theater Intensive

  This four-week program is designed for students approximately 12 to 18 years old. Participants receive concentrated rehearsal and performance training and finish with a fully produced musical, giving them experience in acting, singing, ensemble work, and theatrical production.

• 2014

  Launch New Works NowProduct launch

  Background

  The company sought to make the development of new American plays and musicals a more visible part of its artistic identity.

  Action taken

  Northern Stage introduced a workshop and public-reading program bringing artists and audiences into the development process.

  Aftermath

  The initiative became an ongoing new-work platform and later moved from a single festival format to workshops spread across the season.

  Source

• 2013

  Build a permanent arts centerStrategy

  Background

  After a leadership transition, Northern Stage needed a long-term venue capable of supporting professional productions, education, and community programming.

  Action taken

  Carol Dunne and Managing Director Eric Bunge led fundraising and construction of the Barrette Center for the Arts in downtown White River Junction.

  Aftermath

  The 240-seat theater opened in October 2015 and became Northern Stage's primary performance venue.

  Reported building cost. $7.4 million (Construction completed by October 2015)

  Source

1. 1Northern Stageen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Northern Stage official websitenorthernstage.org