Feature: GRAND OPENING OF 'THE POSEY' During Stage 13 One Year Anniversary

It is amazing what can happen in one year.

Just one year after Stage 13 Foundation for the Performing Arts began its mission of creating opportunities for young artists in Arkansas, the organization celebrated its first anniversary with another major milestone—the debut of its new performance space, the Stage 13 Sheridan Posey Performance Center, affectionately known as The Posey.

 Located at 400 N. Bowman Road in Little Rock, The Posey gives Stage 13 a performance venue to complement its growing educational programs. More importantly, it gives students and artists another place to learn, rehearse, perform and discover just how much they are capable of doing.

And I absolutely love who they chose to honor with its name.

Sheridan Posey, longtime theatre educator at Pulaski Academy, has spent years helping young people find confidence, belonging and their own voices through theatre. For generations of students, Posey has been much more than the person directing the show or teaching the class. She has been a mentor, cheerleader and champion for young artists.

Having a performance center named in your honor is a pretty extraordinary way to find out just how many lives you have touched, and Posey understands how unusual that recognition is.

“I know that this is not normal. I know that not many people receive the honor of having something they love named after them in their lifetime, and I am deeply, deeply honored,” Posey said during Stage 13's anniversary celebration.

 That influence is now permanently attached to a place where future generations of young artists will have the opportunity to learn and create.

And in just one year, the number of students receiving that training through Stage 13 has nearly doubled.

Stage 13 began its first year with 18 Pre-Professional Company students, known around Stage 13 as the Pre-Pro, who were able to participate free of charge thanks to sponsors who supported the program.

For its second year, Stage 13 has expanded that training into two audition-based companies serving different age groups. The Pre-Professional Company continues with 18 junior and senior high school students, while the newly established Studio Company, or Stu Co, includes 16 freshmen and sophomores.

That means Stage 13 has grown from 18 students in its original Pre-Pro program to 34 young artists receiving specialized training through the two companies.

And they have to earn their spots.

Students audition to be accepted into the programs, making the training an opportunity they actively work toward rather than simply sign up to attend.

One of those students is Canyon Humphreys, a junior at Pulaski Academy who is beginning his first year as part of the Pre-Professional Company. Though Humphreys considers himself relatively new to theatre, he already has four productions under his belt at Pulaski Academy—Clue, Alice by Heart, Romeo and Juliet and Hadestown.

Humphreys gave me a glimpse into exactly what earning one of those spots entails.

The audition process required him to prepare a 32-bar song cut and contrasting monologues to perform in front of a panel of instructors. Students then returned the following day for a dance call, which this year featured a number from Footloose.

 For someone who has only been involved in four shows, Humphreys admitted the process pushed him.

“It was very challenging, but it was an awesome opportunity to be a part of this amazing group of people,” Humphreys said.

For him, that challenge is part of the appeal.

“It's just a safe space to be yourself,” he said. “Everyone here wants to see you do better and wants to push you to become a better actor, singer, dancer—all of the above.”

And there it is.

That may be one of the best explanations of why programs like Stage 13 matter.

The goal isn't simply to put students onstage. It is to create an environment where they feel safe enough to take risks, fail, try again and grow alongside people who genuinely want them to succeed.

 It is also exactly what Posey discovered through teaching.

Posey told supporters that becoming a teacher was not originally the career she imagined. Her work as a professional theatre artist, however, continued putting her in front of young performers.

“I realized that it was the absolute best way to ensure that theater would continue for generations to come,” Posey said.

Now there is a performance center carrying her name that exists for that very purpose—investing in the people who will create theatre next.

Humphreys hopes to be one of them.

He wants to study theatre in college and ultimately pursue acting for film. For now, he is concentrating on developing his skills through Stage 13.

And the work doesn't stop once students make it through auditions.

Humphreys said his year begins with a dance evaluation followed almost immediately by presenting contrasting song cuts and a monologue. Instructors work with the students to strengthen those pieces and help them understand how they can continue improving them for future auditions.

 Rather than simply preparing students for the next Stage 13 production, the program is preparing them for whatever audition room they may walk into next.

Humphreys recently auditioned for The Wedding Singer, which will bring Pre-Pro and Stu Co members together.

As a junior at Pulaski Academy, he also has two more years to continue working with Posey, someone he clearly holds in high regard.

“Mr. and Mrs. Posey, of course—they've helped me grow so much, and they've always been there for me,” Humphreys said.

He also pointed to something many involved in Central Arkansas theatre already know: Posey's influence reaches well beyond one school.

“She's just so loved and well respected across Little Rock,” he said.

 And while Posey's students are quick to talk about what she has taught them, Posey turns that praise right back around.

“I can easily say that it is the students, the students who teach me every day how to be a better teacher, a better theater artist, and a better person,” Posey said.

That relationship between teacher and student seems to be built into the very foundation of The Posey.

The opening of the new performance center also provides an opportunity to recognize the people who took a leap together one year ago and created Stage 13.

Stage 13 was founded by a team of 13 Arkansas theatre professionals, and that number became part of the organization's identity. Leading the organization are Alyson Courtney and Warren McCullough, Co-Executive Directors; Bridget Davis, Director of Education; Nicholas Bius, Technical Director; April Bartholmey, Operations Manager; John Broadwater, Head of Hospitality; Austin Rodgers, Special Events Coordinator; Molly Giles, Associate Director of Education; Quinn Gasaway, Education Coordinator; Paige Carpenter, Master Carpenter; Nathan Abshire, Sound Engineer; Rex Easter, Resident Carpenter/Technical Assistant; and Margo Gifford, Resident Prop Master/Scenic Artist.

 They are the Stage 13 thirteen.

Together, they have created an organization centered around education, professional training, performance and giving young Arkansas artists more opportunities to grow.

Courtney and McCullough reflected on that journey during the anniversary celebration.

“Saturday night was one of those moments when you look around the room and realize just how much can happen in a year,” Courtney and McCullough said. “Stage 13 started with 13 people willing to take a risk and a community that almost immediately stepped up and said, ‘We believe in this.’”

That community support is an important part of the Stage 13 story. Thirteen people may have started it, but students, parents, teaching artists, volunteers, donors, sponsors and audiences have helped it grow.

 The expansion from 18 Pre-Pro students to 34 students across two companies is one example of what that support has made possible.

And according to Courtney and McCullough, celebrating that growth isn't nearly as important as what happens next.

“UpStage was never intended to just celebrate what we've accomplished. It was about what comes next,” they said. “We have big dreams for the young artists we serve, for arts education and for what the performing arts can become in Arkansas.”

The Posey is a pretty tangible example of those big dreams becoming reality, however The Posey isn't a monument meant to be admired from a distance. It is meant to be used.

Students like Humphreys will walk through its doors. They will audition and rehearse. They will forget lines and learn them again. They will sing, dance, build, paint, make friends, discover talents they didn't know they possessed and eventually stand underneath stage lights while an audience applauds.

Some may become professional performers, directors, designers, technicians or educators.

Maybe one of them will even become the movie actor Humphreys dreams of becoming.

Others may choose entirely different careers.

But theatre education isn't only about creating theatre professionals. It creates confident people who understand collaboration, creativity and the importance of finding their own voice.

At the anniversary celebration, Posey ended her remarks by bringing the audience into a pre-show tradition she has shared with hundreds of young theatre artists throughout her career.

Her final words could just as easily serve as the mission statement for what happens next inside The Posey.

“Thank you everyone, for allowing and helping me and Stage 13 share magic with young theater artists every single day,” Posey said. “We are all the playmakers.”

For more information about joining this amazing group, visit their website at stage13.org.

Need more Arkansas Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...