Desert Stages Theatre

4720 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, USA

Address:	4720 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, USA
Phone:	+1 480-483-1664
Site:	desertstages.org
Rating:	4.3

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

A Private User

I also wanted to address the negative feedback on Desert Stages Theatre. I am kind of dumbfounded at those reviews. My daughter is on her 5th play with Desert Stages Theatre and her best friend (like a daughter to me) is on her 9th. We also did pay the optional annual $100 to become a "friend" of Desert Stages Theatre because we wanted able to support the theatre (a 501C3 non-profit) and get a beautiful brass heart with my daughters name on it on the wall at the theatre she loves so dearly. She was, however, cast in a lead role BEFORE we became a friend of the theatre. Again, yes, you have to buy 15 tickets at $12 each and I have never had a problem selling that many. You are required to volunteer to help for 3 shows. You can work dressing room if you are a mom, usher, raffle ticket sales, or consession. No biggie. You also have to buy your own costumes, outside of that, no other money is required and they have 10 weeks of rehearsing and performing, so I feel it is the appropriate amount of money for the experience and training. I have seen my daughter open up and become part of a family at this theatre. Her confidence level has skyrocketed! I love the philosophy at this theatre. They believe that every child deserves a chance on the stage to feel special! They cast as many kids as possible and spread the lead roles around so that several kids get a chance in the spotlight. Has my daughter been yelled at backstage when they are being too loud, Yes! Has she been threatened, ummm, NO! They have like 60+ kids backstage and if the noise level is too high, the spectators can hear them! That can ruin the show! They do have to buy the snacks at the theatre, but if my daughter is not interested in those things, she eats before the show. They also provide a pizza lunch on the day that they do 2 shows in a row. Laurie Cullity, has done nothing but encourage my daughter to be the best she can be and love her even if she is one of MANY. We love this theatre and the shows are truly magical to watch!

A Private User

I wanted to address some of the negative reviews on here. My daughter is completing a run of her 1st show with Desert Stages and has had a wonderful experience. She can hardly wait for the next one to begin. 1st off I want to state that it is untrue that you have to become a "friend" of Desert Stages in order to be cast in a show. My daughter was cast despite us never having donated. We did decide to become a "friend" later ( just a $100 donation) because A we want to support this nonprofit organization and B it gives you the advantage of scheduling early auditions for one year. They do not charge for kids to participate but you are required to buy 15 tickets at $12 a piece. The shows run for 5 weekends so you should have no problem selling any tickets that you don't use yourself. They also expect parents to provide the costumes and props for their children and also to volunteer during a minimum of 3 times. As long as you know this going into it you should have no problems. Somebody posted that the staff treated the children poorly which is not what my daughter experienced at all. If that were true why would these kids come back and do show after show? Many of these kids have been performing since age 3 and continue well into their teens. Yes, they are often told to be quiet backstage but they are not "threatened" as one reviewer posted. I do think it is slightly annoying that you are required to buy snacks through the snack bar, but again it is a nonprofit organization and every little bit helps. Plus it is convenient just to be able to put credit on your child's account and not have to remember packing a snack or money for each rehearsal. All in all they end up putting on a great show and the kids really enjoy themselves in the process.

Julie Forth

We love DST. Our daughter has only done 4 shows there but loved every single one. I know some reviews are saying it is a rip off since only friends of DST get good parts. This is not true. There are lots of talented kids at DST and there are not enough "good" roles for them all. There is also nothing wrong with being in the ensemble.This is why DST does an early and late cast for all of their children shows. They then have kids trade off parts for each cast. This is because they are trying to give kids a chance for a good role. My daughter was in the ensemble every time and loved it. The older kids are great with the younger ones. We are currently not doing shows at DST but that is only because of the distance from our home. We found a studio by us that does classes and plays. It had nothing to do with the parts my daughter was getting. She just wanted to try for shows at other locations. She definitely plans on returning to DST. Anytime we go back to DST to watch a show, my daughter is hugged like a long last family member. That is what DST is, no matter how long you are away. It is like coming back to a part of your family.

A Private User

I personally, was an actress at Desert Stages for about a year. In the audition process I learned that the only way I could even get a role was if i paid them 100 dollars to become a "friend", so i became a "friend" and they gave me a lovely part with 2 lines! Desert Stages doesnt give out roles based on talent, they give out roles based on the amount of money you donate to the theater. the more money you donate, the bigger your part. If you want to be taken as a serious actress, or actor, you will go find a new theater immanently. I did, and the theater i went to, on my first audition, i got the part of Laurey Williams in Oklahoma. If any of you stage parents are reading this, you know what a big role that is. All in all, desert stages is a scam, to get 1,000 dollars out of you at least just for your child to be some lame background dancer. So parents, the choice is yours, pay a fortune for your child to sway in the background, or let them get a part based on their real talent.DONT COME TO THIS PLACE! (and plus the stage is a room that used to be a restaurant?)

Eva Langer

Awesome Place! YOU DONT PAY 100 DOLLARS TO AUDITION!!!!!! YOU CAN PLAY 100 DOLLARS AND IT GETS YOU A SOLO AUDITION! IT IS NOT REQUIRED AND DOESNT GUARRANTEE YOU A BETTER ROLE! I do shows here and its amazing! They offer summer camps every year and have 3 sessions! I have done 3 years of summer camp and its expensive but fun! Your child gets to audition and do a show in 3 weeks which is pretty impressive! MainStage shows are also amazing! it is theatre in the round. they dont threaten you sometimes they will yell at you too quite down but they never threaten! you have to be quite so that it doesnt ruin the show. you have to buy 12 tickets if youre in the show, but you can always sell those to your friend and make back the profit. you get your own costume but you can always use something from your closet and maybe buy a couple things. its a community theatre they dont have a lot of money.