Who We Are
About Mainstage
Mainstage Center for the Arts began with a teacher, a group of students, and a simple request: a place to keep creating when the school year ended.
In 1989, Edward P. Fiscella, Jr., then a teacher at Glen Landing Middle School in Gloucester Township, listened as his students asked for a theater program that would carry their creativity through the long summer months. With the support of co-founder Joseph Bretschneider, the Gloucester Township Board of Education, and the Department of Recreation, that request became the first Summer Stage program.
What began as a summer theater experience quickly grew into something much larger. Families wanted more. Students wanted to keep learning, performing, and belonging. The community saw the value of the arts not only as entertainment, but as a source of confidence, expression, connection, and growth.
As demand for year-round programming increased, Mainstage was incorporated in 1994 as a nonprofit organization and later renamed Mainstage Center for the Arts in 1997, reflecting its growing reach beyond Gloucester Township and across the South Jersey region.
Today, Mainstage provides a creative, vibrant, and nurturing environment where youth, adults, and families can experience the power of the performing arts. Through theater, music, dance, education, productions, workshops, school programs, and community outreach, Mainstage helps students discover their talents, build self-worth, form positive relationships, and develop a lasting appreciation for the arts.
Each year, Mainstage reaches an annual audience of more than 50,000 and serves more than 1,200 children directly through classes and workshops, with thousands more reached through assemblies and educational outreach. Although Mainstage has never owned a theater of its own, its work continues through strong partnerships with schools, colleges, community organizations, artists, donors, volunteers, and families who believe the arts are essential to a thriving community.
For more than three decades, Mainstage has helped South Jersey celebrate the arts, strengthen community pride, and open doors for the next generation of performers, creators, leaders, and arts lovers.
Come celebrate the arts with us.
Mainstage at a Glance
- Founded in 1989
- Serving South Jersey for more than 30 years
- 50,000+ annual audience reach
- 1,200+ children served directly each year
- Year-round arts education, performances, and outreach
- Powered by community support
Our Mission
Mainstage Center for the Arts is passionately committed to enriching the cultural landscape of the South Jersey region by providing inclusive, high-quality performing arts programs and producing artistic experiences that inspire imagination, cultivate creative expression, and strengthen community connection.
Through a spirit of service, collaboration, and excitement, we strive to expand educational and cultural opportunities for diverse groups of people while developing students holistically through theater by building confidence, empathy, discipline, leadership, and communication skills that extend far beyond the stage.
Our Vision
Mainstage Center for the Arts envisions a future in which it serves as the leading performing arts organization in South Jersey, fostering a thriving and inclusive community where the transformative power of the arts ignites creativity, empowers individuals, builds lifelong confidence and compassion, and unites people of all ages and backgrounds through meaningful human connection and shared artistic experiences.
We aspire to be an organization where the arts challenge perspectives, inspire meaningful conversation, enhance quality of life, and deepen understanding of our shared humanity, while shaping the care and commitment shown to our students, artists, audiences, staff, and greater community.
The magic we create at Mainstage is a collaborative effort. Throughout the year, our programs are brought to life by a talented community of professional teaching artists who share their creativity and expertise with our performers. Supporting this work is our dedicated year-round staff, who guide daily operations, productions, and initiatives that serve hundreds of families and patrons across the South Jersey region.
Support the Arts.
Inspire the Next Generation.
Mainstage is made possible through public and private grants, corporate sponsorships, memberships, individual contributions, and the generosity of people who believe in the power of the arts.
Your gift helps Mainstage continue providing arts education, performances, outreach programs, and creative opportunities for youth and families throughout South Jersey.