HOUSTON — What might look like a hole in the wall in Rice Village is actually an icon in the Houston theater community.
"We were founded in 1975, but we've been here since the early 80s," said Shannon Emerick, Main Street Theater's director of marketing & communications.
The location along Times Boulevard is the theater's main stage, where it puts on plays for adults. The venue only seats about 100.
"Our performance style, our aesthetic that we've developed over the years is a very intimate one," Emerick said. "You're sharing the experience in a way that is so intimate and personal, not us pulling you on stage, but you're sharing a moment in time that's not going to happen exactly the same way again."
Theater is about human connection, about experiencing a story together. The environment certainly helps, but the talent on stage and off does most of the heavy lifting.
"We are so fortunate," said Emerick. "There are so many extraordinary artists in Houston. Certainly actors but also designers, directors, stage managers, crew in it. It takes everybody to make that work."
In many cases, those folks share their skills with any number of theaters around Houston, each of which has its own personality, its own niche.
"You're gonna see things here that you wouldn't see there that you wouldn't see here that you will see here, you know, that kind of thing," Emerick shared. "(At Main Street), our audiences are curious. They're hungry for more. They want to know more and they want to really get invested in it intellectually, emotionally."
Laughing, she added that though Main Street can't fly in a chandelier, as an example, its productions bring the audience right to the heart of the story.
"We love that," said Emerick.
In addition to the six plays, which each run for about four weeks, during its season, Main Street also produces seven shows for kids at MATCH.
"Our Theater for Youth also tours across Texas," Emerick said. "So we'll bring the theater to you if you can't come here because, again, if we can't connect … that's why we want to be here."
For show information or ticket prices at Main Street Theater, click here.
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