Stage One: Louisville Children

StageOne has a deeply rooted past here in Louisville, KY. Originally called The Louisville Children’s Theatre, the company was formed in 1946. Its flagship stage was at the Louisville Woman’s Club until 1952. Over the next 30 years, leadership and performance venues evolved and in 1978 Dr. Moses Goldberg was hired as producing Director. It was Goldberg who added to the name ‘Stage One’: The Louisville Children’s Theatre. Under Dr. Goldberg’s leadership, the organization became a professional acting company under the Actors’ Equity Association, and in 1995 established residency at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, where it operates to this day.

In June 2002, after 25 years under the direction of Goldberg, J. Daniel Herring took the helm as Artistic Director, with Beth Conn as Managing Director; both long term employees of StageOne. After five years of leadership, J. Daniel took an academic position in San Jose, CA and announced his departure from StageOne. Among Herring’s many accomplishments during his tenure at StageOne included the development of DramaWorks; an in-school program of classes, workshops and professional development training for teachers. Herring produced and directed The Great Gilly Hopkins, which went from Louisville to the New Victory Theater in New York, receiving raves from The New York Times and the New York Post. He also created the Mimi and Marshall Heuser New Play Development Series, which premiered such works as Spirit Shall Fly, Trials: The Life of Joan of Arc, Come Sing, Jimmy Jo, Dream: Young Voices of the Civil Rights Movement, and The Music Lesson.

In preparation for Herring’s departure, a joint board meeting of the StageOne Advisory Council, Music Theatre Louisville, and the Louisville Theatrical Association (presenter of PNC Broadway Across America – Louisville) sat down with Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts President Stephen Klein and Fund For the Arts CEO Allan Cowen and agreed to combine the three groups into a single collaborative organization. The purpose of the combined organizations, which operates under the name the Louisville Theatrical Association (LTA), would be to forge new and greater audience development and education opportunities for each group, and take advantage of staffing efficiencies under the new format. Peter Holloway, Executive Director of Music Theatre Louisville was named Executive Director of LTA, overseeing all three organizations.

All three groups have a long history in Louisville. LTA was originally organized by prominent civic leaders as the Louisville Park Theatrical Association to produce and present summer stock musicals at the Iroquois Amphitheatre, built by the national WPA (Works Progress Administration) and opened in 1938. The organization dropped “Park” from its name when it left the Amphitheater in the 1950’s and began presenting touring Broadway Shows at indoor Louisville venues including Memorial Auditorium and the old Brown Theatre. It currently presents at the Kentucky Center and Louisville Palace.