BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwaonline.com
What happens when a “collective” of friends decides to start a theater company?
“I think our ‘best case’ scenarios were that enough people would audition that we could cast the shows, and that enough people would come and see them that we weren’t playing to empty chairs,” remembered Stephanie Whitcomb, artistic director for Theatre Collective of Northwest Arkansas. The company was conceived in December 2022. “Our expectations were extremely low because we had no idea how hungry Northwest Arkansas would be for a new community theater.”
TCNWA announced its third season at a celebration Dec. 7 at Brick & Mortar in downtown Rogers. In 2024, the big news was the company’s first fully realized musical, “[title of show.]” In 2025, Theatre Collective will come back with “Disenchanted!,” and this time, they’ll move the musical from the black box at The Medium in Springdale to venue’s 371-seat auditorium.
That means “the capacity to seat over five times the number of audience members for each show,” said Rachel Mills, TCNWA executive director. “[title of show]” sold out two of its three performances in November, and “we think ‘Disenchanted!’ will have wide appeal to the community and let us showcase some amazing performers.
“We’re thrilled to grow into a different space,” Mills said. “Our audience grew by over a third this year from 2023, which is so encouraging and inspires us to keep going!”
“Just the fact that people want to keep playing with us is amazing, and we are so grateful,” added Whitcomb.
Along with its “variety of theatrical experiences” that include two cabarets per season and “working closely with other community theaters in the area,” Mills credits the nonprofit company’s approach to creating a season as one reason for its success.
“Our members vote on productions they want to see, so we know our shows are endorsed and supported by local performance artists and theatergoers,” she explained. “We want to continue making connections with folks in the community, continue the work toward our mission of creating unique performance opportunities for local performance artists, and continue telling great stories.
“We think our programming choices set us up nicely to meet those goals in our next season, and we can’t wait to see everyone at auditions and performances!”
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FYI
Theatre Collective NWA:
2025 Season
Broadway Through the Ages — This musical theater cabaret, directed by Lexie Edmunds, is a journey of Broadway songs (and fashion) through the decades. Auditions: Jan. 13-14. Performances: March 14-16. Venue: The Medium, black box.
“Disenchanted!” — The original storybook heroines are none too happy with the way they’ve been portrayed in today’s pop culture, so they’ve tossed their tiaras and have come to life to set the record straight in this full-length musical directed by Rachel Mills. Auditions: March 17-18. Performances: May 23-25. Venue: The Medium, main stage.
“Steel Magnolias” — Set in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, La., where all the ladies who are “anybody” come to have their hair done, this classic comedy moves toward tragedy when the spunky Shelby (who is diabetic) risks pregnancy and forfeits her life. Director to be announced. Auditions: June 23-24. Performances: Aug. 22-24. Venue: The Medium, black box.
“Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” — Ever wondered what would happen if you took Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale and put it into a blender with Mel Brooks and Monty Python? That’s just what happens in this lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud, 90-minute, gender-bending romp directed by Stephanie Whitcomb. Auditions: Aug. 25-26. Performances: Oct. 17-19. Venue: The Medium, black box.
A Season’s Greeting Card Cabaret — Back by popular demand, get in the holiday spirit with this showcase of your favorite classic, cinematic and theatrical pieces, all family-friendly, directed by Sarah Doyle. Auditions: Oct. 6-7. Performances: Dec. 5-7. Venue: The Medium, black box.
INFO — theatrecollectivenwa.org
