About Us:

Founded in 1974, The Western Stage (TWS) has evolved over the last three decades into one of the most respected regional theatres on California’s Central Coast. Supported in part by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts, The Western Stage is committed to enriching the culture of its community by bringing together professional artists, theatre students, and community members to produce a dynamic season of plays that enhances the lives of both the artist and audience; developing new works that speak to the history and culture of the Salinas Valley; and providing educational opportunities to allow students of all skill levels to explore and develop their unique talents.

Theater is a uniquely collaborative and powerful medium for cultural expression. Our theater, The Western Stage, provides a professional platform for our educational mission; a substrate on which our diverse constituencies and the communities of the Salinas Valley can engage and catalyze each other. This synergy yields theater that is Excellent - in its artistic merit, in its production values and in its relevance to our region. Our multiple programs and cultural services are the girders and joists for this vision. They are diverse in strategy yet unified by our primary commitment toward inclusion and broad participation.

The Western Stage is firstly a professional theater with an educational mission. We produce an acclaimed subscription season of plays utilizing the local talent pool and professional and pre-professional artists. The Western Stage and Hartnell College is driven by it’s educational mission and is committed to providing traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities for the communities of the Salinas Valley. We are further committed to offering educational opportunities to the youth of the Salinas area. We collaborate extensively with the schools, offering school tours, student matinees and our own youth program, the Young Company.