Northern Stage was founded in 1997 by Brooke Wetzel Ciardelli, and for more than 15 years, performances took place at the historic Briggs Opera House. Quickly, Northern Stage became the preeminent year-round theater company in the Upper Valley, offering professional productions of world premieres, classics, and musicals.
After Ciardelli's departure in 2013, the Board of Directors engaged Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne, who in tandem with then-Managing Director Eric Bunge elevated the organization to a new level and spearheaded the fundraising for and construction of the new Barrette Center for the Arts in the historic district of downtown White River Junction.
The Barrette Center opened to great acclaim in 2015.
In 2014, Dunne launched the New Works Now series with a commitment to the creation of new plays and musicals for the American theater. The program has been extraordinarily successful, and works that began as developmental readings in our NWN program have continued to our mainstage, Off-Broadway in New York, and beyond.
Northern Stage's robust educational program focuses on professional training in a nurturing and supportive environment for students of all ages. Offerings include student acting ensembles, a summer musical theater intensive, and an expansive theater-in-the-schools residency program.
In 2017, Dunne earned a Genius Grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation, for her achievements in theater arts, recognizing her as a pioneering artist and artistic director. Soon thereafter, Dunne became the inaugural leader of the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle, a visionary initiative created to bridge the career gaps for women in the American theater. The program has supported the elevation of brilliant women leaders including Tamilla Woodard, Rachel Karpf, Sarah Ramussen, Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, Jess Chayes, Susan Booth, and Christina Baldwin into major roles in theater leadership and continues to build a new vision of inclusive, compassionate theater leadership.
Today, Dunne and Managing Director Jason Smoller, along with a talented staff of 32 theater professionals, are guiding the theater through a project to build new housing for the support of artists and artisans, and an endowment to ensure that the company can provide world class art, education and community connection for generations to come.
After Ciardelli's departure in 2013, the Board of Directors engaged Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne, who in tandem with then-Managing Director Eric Bunge elevated the organization to a new level and spearheaded the fundraising for and construction of the new Barrette Center for the Arts in the historic district of downtown White River Junction.
The Barrette Center opened to great acclaim in 2015.
In 2014, Dunne launched the New Works Now series with a commitment to the creation of new plays and musicals for the American theater. The program has been extraordinarily successful, and works that began as developmental readings in our NWN program have continued to our mainstage, Off-Broadway in New York, and beyond.
Northern Stage's robust educational program focuses on professional training in a nurturing and supportive environment for students of all ages. Offerings include student acting ensembles, a summer musical theater intensive, and an expansive theater-in-the-schools residency program.
In 2017, Dunne earned a Genius Grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation, for her achievements in theater arts, recognizing her as a pioneering artist and artistic director. Soon thereafter, Dunne became the inaugural leader of the BOLD Theater Women's Leadership Circle, a visionary initiative created to bridge the career gaps for women in the American theater. The program has supported the elevation of brilliant women leaders including Tamilla Woodard, Rachel Karpf, Sarah Ramussen, Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, Jess Chayes, Susan Booth, and Christina Baldwin into major roles in theater leadership and continues to build a new vision of inclusive, compassionate theater leadership.
Today, Dunne and Managing Director Jason Smoller, along with a talented staff of 32 theater professionals, are guiding the theater through a project to build new housing for the support of artists and artisans, and an endowment to ensure that the company can provide world class art, education and community connection for generations to come.
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