Multi-Use Performance Venue Comes to Downtown Fayetteville

Staff Photo Nick Brothers
Stage Eighteen, the new multi-use performance venue in downtown Fayetteville, 18 E Center St., had its first sneak peek event Thursday, Nov. 3.

Fayetteville is gaining a new community performance venue near the downtown square.

The team behind NWA Creative Arts Network, who also produce Last Night Fayetteville, the Creative Exchange Conference, and the Last Saturday Variety Show unveiled their latest venture, Stage Eighteen, at a special sneak peak during First Thursday this month.

Located just off the square at 18 E Center St., Stage Eighteen will host a variety of productions and events, including live music, comedy, theatre, film screenings, fashion presentations, and much more.

“This is a venue built for Fayetteville, a place where our creative community can call home,” said Lauren Embree, Executive Director of NWA Creative Arts Network.

Staff Photo Nick Brothers
Stage Eighteen will act as a gallery for local artists, as well as a place for performance artists to produce shows.

The first concert at the venue will be Friday, Nov. 11 with touring indie rock groups Karl Blau and LAKE. The show starts at 9 p.m., and tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door.

With state of the art sound, lighting, and video technologies, Stage Eighteen will be available to local creative producers, art groups, and organizations looking for a space to present their latest work, a location for photo and video shoots, live music recording, workshops/lessons, pop-up dinners, product launches, and other creative endeavors.

The venue will also have video capture and live streaming capabilities.

“We designed Stage Eighteen with an international audience in mind,” said David Embree, technical director. “Unlike other venues in the region, we can share our local and touring acts with the world through a high quality, real-time video product.”

The group has had this project in mind for several years, noting a lack of affordable and accessible performance space for local producers. The two had been eyeing the Center Street location for six years.

Staff Photo Nick Brothers
At the sneak peek event for Stage Eighteen, the crowd mingled in the new space observing the art on display. The venue can hold about 200 people standing and 100 seated.

“There is this notion of the missing middle,” Lauren Embree said. “There are small spaces that arts groups try to work within, but not a dedicated venue with quality technology to present locally produced performance. Facilities like the Walton Arts Center are very busy, and it can be quite expensive to rent a space there for a local producer. Stage Eighteen will provide an affordable and accessible option where our creative community can thrive.”

David Embree alone put in 18-20 hour days for three weeks straight remodeling the building that used house Pigmint, using every hour he had after working his two day jobs. He had to tear down a temporary wall, move all the building lumber inside to build the stage, and built the bar all by himself.

“Cutting porcelain was a lot of fun,” Embree said, “Even though I ended up eating a year’s worth of dust in a couple hours.”

The 1,500 square foot venue will accommodate an audience of 100 seated or 200 standing.

“I’m most excited that we will host intimate performances,” Embree said. “Some of my favorite shows have been in small spaces, where you really feel the connection between performer and audience. There are plenty of bar or restaurant venues in town, but those are not conducive to a listening environment.”

With its proximity to the Fayetteville square, Stage Eighteen is positioned to benefit the many events taking place in the area. The organizers are planning to host several all ages shows, including family friendly productions. A family friendly series is being planned to happen during Farmer’s Market Saturdays in the spring.

Staff Photo Nick Brothers
The stage at Stage Eighteen was built by hand by David Embree, the technical director Stage Eighteen.

The Embrees said they were excited to be opening up shop in the heart of downtown Fayetteville. They hope to build an online video catalog of the best performances and educational workshops, and especially hope to document burgeoning local musicians and artists in their early stages.

“Quality video is an increasingly important factor in a performer’s ability to break out into larger markets, and I’m delighted to contribute my talents to that end,” Embree said. “Performers need quality production, and, as a producer, I seek quality performances. Stage 18 is going to provide that for all of us.”

For more information, visit www.Stage18Live.com.