Virginia Stage Company

About Virginia Stage Company

The premier professional theatre in southeastern Virginia, Virginia Stage Company was founded in 1978 by members of the Hampton Roads community who had a deep desire to make live theatre a part of the area's cultural life. For its home, VSC chose the Wells Theatre in downtown Norfolk, which was fully restored in 1986 and is now a National Historic Landmark.

Virginia Stage Company is Southeastern Virginia's leading non-profit theatre, serving an audience of over 58,000+ patrons annually, both at the Wells Theatre and throughout the community. Our mission is "to make memories together, building community through the extraordinary power of sharing a story."

Virginia Stage Company is one of the country's foremost regional theaters. We are proud of our history of developing new plays and musicals. There have been 28 world premieres at the Wells in our 40 year history. We value collaboration, and have forged meaningful partnerships with many of the extraordinary arts, educational, and social service institutions in Hampton Roads. Virginia Stage productions are created on site and from the ground up – costumes to choreography, sound to lighting – working with a mix of local artists and artisans as well as some of the leading actors, directors, and designers from around the country to produce world class theatre for our Hampton Roads audience.

Virginia Stage Company connects the Hampton Roads community through initiatives that enrich lives and encourage artists and audiences for the future. Our education and community engagement programming strives to reflect the needs of the communities we serve and to advocate for arts integration and experiences that promote literacy, character development, and critical thinking in the next generation.

Virginia Stage Company uses theatre as a catalyst to foster public discourse. We believe that theatre is more than a play, place, or product - it is a living process that can expand thinking and offer fresh perspectives. Learning, critical thinking, and self-confidence all grow as we sit together in one space to experience and contemplate our shared world. Acknowledging and embracing differences in identity is essential to a dynamic cultural conversation - and theatre has just the tools to do that.

Virginia Stage Company is owned by our community and relies heavily on the generosity of individuals, corporations, municipalities and charitable foundations in reaching its mission. For their support and for the invested enthusiasm of our community, we are deeply grateful.