Stone's Throw Theater

“Stone’s Throw Theater came to be with the support of Buddy Beyer, the owner of Beyer’s Furniture. I had moved back from Portland, Oregon after being gone for a number of years performing and directing out on the West Coast. I realized that if I was going to live in my hometown and be close to family, I would need a creative outlet.
 
So, when I came back to Lapeer, Buddy was kind enough to offer the space. Over the years, we’ve tried a bunch of things to make a furniture store and a storefront theater space with only 50 seats work. We also had to design some things to make it work. Take our dinner show cabarets: the dinner component happens in the dining room sets in Buddy’s furniture store, and then the audience comes over and they see the show.
 
In our first year we did three stage productions, three dinner show cabarets, and probably three regional pop-up art shows. We try not to compete with what is happening at The Pix and or Gallery 194 by focusing on regional artists instead of immediately local artists. Competition is fine, but in a small town like this, you really need to carve out your own thing to fill gaps and offer a different experience to the community.
We've really picked up the production aspect of what we're producing. Now we're up to seven productions, a summer camp for kids with musical theater, three art shows, and a couple cabarets a year. They're usually small casts with extremely talented performers, directors, and designers who get paid a stipend.
Because we only have 50 seats, the experience is immersive and inclusive. You're part of the process. You're part of the show, because it's so small. We can be a bit more adventurous with our programming. We can produce shows that are for mature audiences only, due to language or subject matter. We also handle topics that are maybe a little more challenging, and I think because of the intimacy of our space, we're able to also get away with that with more impact.
We need more places like this and I'd love to see more art and entertainment pop up. I’m a big believer in ‘we need more of everything’. Communities need cultural arts, not only for a better quality of life, but also for commerce. We work with local restaurants and other partners within the community. 50 people in town on a weekend equals money spent in Lapeer’s businesses, and we can track and show that happens. We work closely with the DDA and they're very supportive of us. The Chamber is supportive of us, as well as businesses and the community at large. But you can't survive on ticket sales alone; you need support from donors and investors and we’re very lucky that we do have those.
What I love about this space is that we get to reinvent ourselves. We're not locked into anything—we can play, experiment, and try out new ideas. This is my oasis and I love it. I love to come in and just play. I get to produce different shows and what needs to be done in this community, both what's hot and popular and what's going to challenge people. We're pretty lucky.”
– Tony Stroh, Stone's Throw Theater