Fairy Tale Theatre!

A Brief History of Marble Stage Theatre

Marble Stage started out as a simple idea: a community theatre for the community, by the community.  A theatre where everyone helped out in every way possible, whether  onstage, painting sets, sewing costumes, or going out trying to raise money.  When trying to find a place to start this endeavour, Marble Stage joined up with a local community center.  Once the location was set, it was easy to come up with a name.  The community center did not have a stage as such, but a marble slab at the end of a long room.  The space and slab were quickly adapted to work as a theatre and the name “Marble Stage” was created.  Our first production was Fiddler on the Roof in 2005.  With over 35 locals onstage, (some who had never been on stage before!) Marble Stage had made its debut on the local theatre scene.

With success came disappointment.  With only a few months before auditions were to take place for the next production, Marble Stage suddenly found that we were without a home or financial backer.  The Marble Stage community quickly snapped into action with a goal.  We started raising money in any way we could think of.   We begged, and held fundraisers.  Anything that could be done to raise money was tried, even our now famous Egg Sale.  Even with all of our efforts, we just could not get the money to pay for the rights for the planned show, or to rent a theatre.  It was decided that doing the traditional musical was not going to happen our second season, but thanks to a local actor/playwright, a script was presented to us that we could produce rent-free; Way Back On Broadway.  It was a show that took audiences through the history of Broadway theatre.  Just weeks before the audition for the show, a small stage was found in the form of a church gymnasium.  It was so small that it had no wing space for sets and no dressing rooms for the actors.  An extension had to be built just to handle the number of people on stage.  Despite these hardships, the production was well received by the community and Marble Stage proved that against all odds and with nothing more than a dream, the show would indeed go on.

Our third season found us back on our feet and performing Oliver at Bayless High School.  With many new cast and crew members, new alliances were forged, and friendships made.  Many Bayless High School students joined the ranks of Marble Stage and remain some of our most loyal members to date.  One of our most ambitious shows to date, Oliver saw Marble Stage show its darker side, with Oliver's theives, prostitutes, and murderers setting a more serious tone.