On the Move

As of August 2007, NEW stAGE will operate in Pittsburgh.

Solo Show Staged Reading

Sex, Drugs, and Spiritual Enlightenment;
or, How I've Become the Man I Am Today

a work-in-progress

Written and performed by Kyle Bostian

With staging input from Jeremy Larson and Becca Hengstenberg
Scenic/graphic design by Tiffany Wilhelm

Thursday, April 26, 8 PM
UWSP Studio Theatre, Noel Fine Arts Center
Sponsored by UWSP Gay-Straight Alliance and UWSP Players
FREE!!! (donations go to UWSP Gay-Straight Alliance)

Spring Production

With Rosie Zurad and Jake Paque

Staged by Kyle Bostian and Christine Grimm

Thursday, March 29, 8 PM
Friday, March 30, 8 PM
Saturday, March 31, 5 PM & 8 PM

CenterPoint MarketPlace (just off Center Court)
Downtown Stevens Point

Tix: $8 general & $5 student
UWSP Box Office
200 Division St.
715-346-4100


Meet the Brilliant Traces Company

Rosie Zurad is completing her BFA degree in musical theatre from UWSP this spring. Favorite roles include Lisa in Lisa and David, Luisa in The Fantasticks, and Lizabette in Anton in Show Business. She recently toured Minnesota with Prairie Fire Children's Theatre and is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of NEW stAGE. She thanks her friends, family, and professors, both old and new, for their support and encouragement.

Jake Paque is thrilled to be making his first appearance with NEW stAGE this spring. Prior to this production, Jake toured the country in a bilingual adaptation of Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s Mornings of April and May. Previous roles include Dorantes in Arthur Kopit’s Discovery of America (dir. Kyle Bostian), Patsy in Three Men on a Horse, and Pablo Picasso in Picasso at the Lapin Agile. He thanks his family and friends for their continual support.

Christine Grimm will finish her BA theatre degree with an emphasis in directing, and with a minor in English literature, from UWSP in December. She has previously directed children’s theatre and high school theatre in her hometown of Portage, WI. She thanks her friends and family for their support, and especially Kyle for giving her this fantastic opportunity!

"In the Works"

How I Became the Man I Am Today:
A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Spiritual Enlightenment

Written and performed by Kyle Bostian

Developmental reading and talkback
Sunday, December 17, 7:30 PM
NFAC 283, UWSP campus

Inaugural Production

"a dizzying, ontological joyride through the post-everything American landscape ... and beyond"

With Tony Kaehny and Jeremy Larson

Thursday, September 28, 8 PM
Friday, September 29, 8 PM & 11 PM
Saturday, September 30, 6 PM

Mission Coffee Bar & Lounge
Downtown Stevens Point

Tix $5 general & $3 students at the Mission in advance or at the door


Meet the Horse Country Company

Tony Kaehny is honored to act under Kyle’s and Becca’s direction again, having done so in Discovery of America and Keely and Du, respectively, last spring. He and Jeremy have worked together numerous times, beginning with The Country Wife in 2003. He thanks his wonderful family and friends for their support.

Jeremy Larson is excited to be in NEW stAGE’s inaugural production. Favorite past roles include Castillo in Arthur Kopit’s Discovery of America, Nick in Sight Unseen, and multiple characters in Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. He also performs Improv with The Dons. He thanks his parents for their endless support and love.

Becca Hengstenberg's previous directing credits include the UWSP Players production of Jane Martin’s Keely and Du, for which she received the Stelmahoske Student Directing Award, and Kyle’s play To(ta)lerance. She thanks the Horse Country team for the creativity & ingenuity which they contributed so generously!

About the Founder

I'm a theatre artist, teacher, and scholar. I hold an MFA in Playwriting (University of Washington) and a PhD in Theatre and Dramaturgy (Florida State University). My plays have been finalists and semifinalists in regional and national competitions and have had readings and productions at university and professional theatres. In recent years I've become increasingly interested in staging and helping develop the works of other writers. That impulse, along with my belief that the solutions to the world's social and political problems have a spiritual basis, has led to the establishment of NEW stAGE. I'm currently on the theatre faculty at Point Park University. Previously I taught at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, where I directed a workshop production of Arthur Kopit's Discovery of America as part of the author's residency in Spring 2006.


Why "Producing Dramaturg"?

I've chosen my title over the more common "artistic director" in order to reflect my approach to the process of developing and staging theatrical works. I see my function as facilitating communication between dramatist and audience, with the performer(s) being the media through which that sacred, communal interaction takes place. When the playwright is present and the script under development, I strive to help the author realize his or her vision in a way that can be translated effectively from the page to the stage. When it comes to finished work, I select material that I believe speaks powerfully for itself, without the need for me to impose my own "vision" on it. (Not that there's anything wrong with that in certain situations.)