About Two Trains Running
At the crossroads of a revolution
It’s 1969, and change is in the air. But for the owner of a threadbare diner in a dying Pittsburgh neighborhood, the civil rights movement may just be an impractical dream. Torn between whether to gamble on an urban-renewal buyout or sell his building to a predatory businessman, he finds himself caught between idealism and brutal reality. August Wilson’s searing portrait of African-American life in the ’60s tells a complex story of the inner lives of ordinary people at an explosive turning point in American history.
Memphis Lee's coffee shop lies in Pittsburgh's Hill District, a neighborhood on the brink of economic development. The restaurant serves as a hangout for a host of regulars: a local intellectual, an elderly man who imparts the secrets of life as learned from a 322-year-old sage, an ex-con, a numbers runner, a laconic waitress who slashed her legs to keep men away, and a developmentally disabled man who was once cheated out of a ham. With Chekhovian obliqueness, the author reveals simple truths, hopes and dreams, creating a microcosm of an era and a community on the brink of change.
Stage Door Productions, Inc.
Stage Door Productions, Inc. has provided theatre opportunities in the Fredericksburg, Virginia community since 1999. Through main stage shows, youth productions, camps, and other educational programming, Stage Door has touched countless individuals in the area who seek the unique experience that is live theatre. Our Stage Door family includes theatre professionals, late-blooming novices, talented amateurs, aspiring youth, enthusiastic supporters, and appreciative audiences.
Our season includes between nine and twelve main stage plays per year, produced by Stage Door or other area production companies under a partnership agreement, as well as an original One Act Play Festival, and two youth performances and multiple workshops for both young and old. We provide performing arts camps for youth and workshops for all ages. Our program also includes Stage Door Stars, a theatre enrichment experience for our special needs' community. As a thriving arts organization, our goal is to continue to grow and develop in new ways, seeking to increase theatre opportunities for all facets of our community.
Come join us in our new 6,000 square foot facility with both a 44-foot main stage seating two hundred on eight tiered levels and our playhouse theater for smaller productions. Stage Door is living up to our core value statement as we now offer under a shared basis the facility to other local theater groups, partnering with all, to truly bring the THEATER TO ALL, and keep the arts alive in our community through shared resources.
Thank you to Lifetime Corporate Benefactor Manfredi Insurance Group - Allstate of Northern Virginia who generously provided over $60,000 to help build the new THEATER FOR ALL, and the on-going via a $60,000, and the ongoing annual Good Hands Grant - supporting the Allstate Community Theater of Fredericksburg project.
The Mission
Stage Door Productions, Inc. entertains and inspires audiences, provides an outlet for artistic expression and creative passion, educates and enriches area youth, serves children with special needs, and preserves locally the art of live theatre through performances, programming, education, and outreach in our community.
The Vision
Stage Door Productions, Inc. envisions a thriving theatre community in Fredericksburg, Virginia where the theatre arts are celebrated, community members of all ages and backgrounds are engaged in the local theatre scene, and creative collaborations and partnerships are encouraged to foster a greater appreciation for the arts in our area and beyond.
The Core Value
Stage Door Productions believes in Theater For All!
Volunteer Today
Come Break A Leg with us – Volunteers of all experience levels are desired and welcomed with open arms. Whether you want to be a star or stay behind the scenes, we have some great opportunities for you to learn more about the theater and arts. Join us today.