UpStage Artists' motto is "community theater for everyone" and it is that motto that they use as their guiding principle when conducting business. One of the ideals the founding members of the group wanted to keep at the forefront was the "community" aspect of community theater. They didn’t want to just do theater to make money, they wanted to do theater so that anyone could take part in the theatrical experience.
They wanted people who had never seen a live production to be able to afford to do so, which is why their ticket prices are $10 (half of the average community theater ticket price of $20). They also wanted to give a chance to people who had never performed or had not performed in a long time (during their production of the Wizard of Oz in 2022, 15 of the 17 children in the cast had never been on stage before), and to give anyone a chance to volunteer in different capacities (lights, sound, props, costumes, etc.) if they wanted to. They wanted to give back to the community that supports them.
In this spirit of giving back, UpStage performed a free performance of Arsenic and Old Lace for residents of Riderwood Retirement Home in Silver Spring. The performance was followed by a question-and-answer session with the cast. It was a resounding success! 40 residents were able to attend, and they spent the afternoon laughing and enjoying the show. The last question that was asked was, "Can we come back for the next show?" With UpStage’s board of directors in attendance, a vote was taken, and it was unanimous. UpStage couldn’t wait to have them back.
UpStage Artists prides itself on working with the community and will continue to find creative ways to do so. If you would like to find out more about how you can help UpStage, you can contact them through their website at https://www.upstageartists.com/contact-us.