About Us
We are an award winning theatre company located in Midtown Kansas City, Missouri. We are located inside the historic Warwick Theater, which originally opened in 1914 as a 1000-seat movie theater.
We began like many small theatre company do with vision and determination. Creating by founders Karen and Bob Paisley in 2003. We have grown every year and have produced over 80 titles since our inception.
OUR VISION
We aspire to be the best small theatre company in the nation.
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OUR MISSION
We relentlessly strive to produce a exceptional product on the stage and make it accessible to everyone regardless of age, race, gender, income, who you love, or how you identify. Theatre belongs to the people.
Our History
Our first venue was the Arts Incubator on West 18th Street in the Crossroads. Two years, three productions, a Playwright's Intensive workshop and several readings later, we had gained enough momentum to leave the Incubator and search for our own space.
We moved into an old garage in 2007 that once repaired buses a few blocks away. Here we finally hit our stride producing a full season of six shows. 2009 saw us move to Midtown for the next decade. That space was only blocks away from our current location near 39th and Main Street. The Warwick is everything we could dream for in a venue. We continue to grow and mature as a company dedicated to bringing thoughtful, well-produced entertainment. Take a trip down memory lane and see more on our history.
Born August 10, 2005
Meet the Team
The Founders
Karen Paisley
Artistic Director - Founder
Karen is the founding Artistic Director of MET, a veteran professional director, performer, writer and award-winning educator. A graduate of UNCG, she earned her Masters Degree in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. Favorite directing and acting projects include Ragtime, One Flea Spare, The Light in the Piazza, The Time of Your Life, Death of a Salesman, Copenhagen, The Woolgatherer, West Side Story, The Crucible, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire du Lune, Hello Dolly, The Wizard of OZ, The Sound of Music and many others.
Bob Paisley
Producing Director - Founder
John Robert Paisley is an award winning actor and director, working with theatres across North America, UK and Australia. Bob has played such challenging roles as Teach in American Buffalo, the title role in Faustus (LA Dramalogue Award), Tom in The Glass Menagerie, Heisenberg in Copenhagen, The Man in The Event, and the 42nd President in Bill Clinton Hercules. He has directed productions for Theatre West Virginia, the Birmingham Children’s Theatre, Neptune Theatre, Our Town Theatre Group and Fringe festivals in Kansas City, Bedford, UK, Adelaide, Australia and Edinburgh, Scotland. TV and film credits include The Rosa Parks Story, General Hospital and the CBS TV murder mystery series, Scene of the Crime
Operations
William Saunders
Director of Business Development
William's portfolio:
Angela Carole Brown
Advisory Board
Board of Directors
Brad Dawdy - President
Claudia Grunewald - VP
Bob Paisley
Steve Bennett
Alan Tilson
Pam Schnake
Michael Beahm
Don Dagenais
Jack Clifford
Kelley Martin
Rob Leigh
Barbara Batts
David Emerick