HARTFORD STAGE COMPANY

The mission of Hartford Stage is to enlighten, entertain, and educate by creating theatrical works of the highest caliber that have a transformative impact on our field, our audiences, and our community.

Under Artistic Director Melia Bensussen, Hartford Stage produces a five-play subscription season that features classic, contemporary and new plays. An annual production of the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol" is a beloved holiday tradition in Hartford. As well, the theatre is committed to a vision of seeking, cultivating, and producing new and exciting plays by diverse, emerging playwrights who will shape the future of American Theatre.

Hartford Stage is the leading provider of theatre education in CT. The education department has developed wide-ranging, comprehensive programs that serve over 20,000 students each year, more than CT’s five other producing regional theatres combined. In-school enrichment programs, like Connections, relate to school curriculum and employ theatrically-based activities to inspire a zeal for learning. HS’s after-school programs provide top of the line theatre opportunities at schools suffering from budget cuts. Studio classes offer training for aspiring actors of any age. The Student Performance Series offers discounted tickets to matinee performances of MainStage shows, study guides, and postshow talkbacks to students, while InterACT provides those same opportunities to underserved students from the area’s most at-risk schools free of charge.

The summer youth program, Breakdancing Shakespeare, casts 15-20 teens to produce a Shakespeare play that weaves hip-hop and breakdancing into the classical text. Hartford Stage regularly works with community organizations to develop unique programs related to the content of each production. These have included the Hartford Public Library, Mark Twain House, True Colors, and Veterans Art Foundation.