Local Fullerton "store-front" theater brings refreshing direction to OC's performing arts scene

With the likes of South Orange County’s acclaimed Laguna Playhouse and South Coast Repertory, its artistic dominance initially makes north Orange County’s performing arts reputation seem underwhelming STAGEStheatre has aimed to change this through $20 year-round stage productions. 

“We’re very interested in making Fullerton a destination location. Since we’re local and put local people on our stage, we want to be able to build more cross-pollination.” 

Founded in 1992 as a student collaboration at Fullerton College, the non-profit theater continues to place education, personal growth, and community support at the top of its agenda, according to Executive Producer Patti Cumby.

“It’s really important that we have community theaters who are participating in the community by bringing in local performers, writers, and directors to work on their craft and hopefully bring other people into the fold,” says Cumby. “Most of us actually have other day jobs. Everybody who comes and works here does so because they are passionate about it [. . .] it’s done purely out of love for the craft.” 

Just blocks away from the epicenter of Fullerton’s trendy downtown bar-hopping district, the approximately 70-seat theater achieves an intimate environment and encourages accessibility in the arts, perhaps because of its compact volume.

“There is absolutely room for all different kinds and sizes of theater [. . .] it’s a great skill to learn. Even if you don’t choose to be an actor, we welcome people to come in and learn how to perform in front of an audience because that is an incredible skill to have,” Cumby says.       

These skills learned in theater can even go to the lengths of improving performance in school. “Teenagers and young adults of varying socioeconomic status who have a history of in-depth arts involvement show better academic outcomes [. . .] they earn better grades and demonstrate higher rates of college enrollment and attainment,” according to a 2012 study by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Since California’s Proposition 13 in 1978, which “cut local tax revenues for public schools,” art programs throughout the state struggle to find a place in the hierarchy of educational importance, often put on the back burner in place of a STEM-based curriculum.

In addition to producing both classical theater literature and original plays from independent writers, the talent base at STAGEStheatre also works to "provide unique educational opportunities and internships for student artists and technicians," to spread the enthusiasm for the performing arts in young minds. 

An evolution of “think-tanking,” characterizes both short and long-term goals for the theater, says Cumby. “That’s why we’re called STAGES. It’s the meaning of the stage that you stand on. But we also have stages in life. This theater has gone through different stages. We didn’t start as a non-profit [organization], but now we are. We try to stay as eclectic as possible.” 

The theater group rejects the concept of competition in the community, which makes the local performing arts scene especially inviting for those intimidated by the industry. 

“We all benefit if we all succeed. We want to be able to bolster the arts and make them something that more people want to participate in and go see and experience. It only benefits us if theaters everywhere thrive.”