It’s almost an hour until performance time and there are already people bustling about in the theatre lobby. They are volunteer ushers, signing in, donning their badges, meeting with the House Manager, sharing information and prepping programs for the soon-to-arrive audience.

Next Act is already looking forward to our summer education plans! In the hopes of increasing enrollment, we’ve adjusted programming to accommodate the very busy lives of our students: the Next Actors program will be shortened by a week, and an additional two-week opportunity will be added to the end of the summer in our new Special Skill Development program. I’m excited to tell you all about it!

As we find ourselves in the midst of our 30th anniversary season and reflecting over the 112 mainstage shows we’ve produced, we asked you about your relationship with Next Act Theatre. What first brought you here? How long have you been a patron? What keeps you coming back?

I’ll admit, this play is tricky to write about. Adam Bock’s A SMALL FIRE is a gentle, quiet and, ultimately, deeply moving expression of what it means to be alive. Exactly; a simple story about … everything.

I’ll admit, this play is tricky to write about. Adam Bock’s A SMALL FIRE is a gentle, quiet and, ultimately, deeply moving expression of what it means to be alive. Exactly; a simple story about … everything.

My goal as a teacher is to give high school students a positive experience with the Bard, one they’ll hopefully remember fondly enough to buy a ticket to a play, put a Shakespeare movie on their Netflix cue, or audition for a role at school.