Welcome!

Recognizing the high risk of failure with such things, I won't try anything too pithy or cute about starting a new blog. This is, however, a powerful tool for establishing communities and facilitating discussion: which, after all, is the whole point of StageNEXT.

StageNEXT is a community initiative recently launched in Charlotte, NC. Its primary goal is to return high-quality, mainstream theatre to the interesting, dynamic, diverse community that Charlotte has become over the last quarter century. It's a city that is maturing and moving from striving to be "world-class", to one that is growing into its own and shedding (slowly) its overweening self-consciousness. At the same time, it is a city struggling to sustain the best of its old identity (e.g., a stong sense of team work and common good) in the face of major demographic changes. I believe that theatre is a powerful tool to facilitate these discussions, and I believe that there is now a unique opportunity to motivate the community to support theatre that strives for this goal.

So, please feel free to hang around and look things over with a critical eye. My intent with this blog is twofold: first, to share with you a sort of real-time history of our efforts to launch a new theatre company in Charlotte; second, to get your feedback and exchange ideas on how we might best accomplish our goals. Thanks in advance for your support and insight. I look forward to continuing the discussion...

sb