With a newfound home in Baton Rouge and degree in theater performance in her pocket, Stephanie Bartage set out in 2019 in hopes of striding the stages of local theater houses. Like most budding thespians, she auditioned ravenously, and, again like most budding thespians, she met a lot of rejection.
It wasn’t so discouraging at first. She knew any aspiring performer must come to terms with rejection, and that sat just fine with her. Nature of the game.
But last spring, when she felt she’d positively crushed an audition only to find out she still didn’t get the role, she began to suspect it wasn’t her talent losing her roles. She says she wondered if it was because she was Latina.
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For her, that was the “final straw,” and the moment she became determined to carve out more space for people of diverse races and ethnicities. “I was like, ‘You know what? Why not open my own theater company,” she says.
Through a mothers’ group on Facebook, Bartage met fellow thespian Victoria Brown, a New York native and graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, and the two quickly struck a personal and creative bond from which emerged 225 Theatre Collective.
Their new company strives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the theatrical arts.
“I want 225 Theatre Collective to be a space where people feel included, feel safe and just feel like they have a chance.”
Bartage and her teammates—co-founder Brown, acting coach and social media manager Jordan Hebert, and technical director and graphic designer Ashley Schmid—want no one to approach their auditions with trepidation that they will be judged on anything but the quality of their performance.
The company’s first production was a sold-out stage reading of Simon Levy’s theatrical adaptation of The Great Gatsby in January at The Guru on Government St. The main character, Jay Gatsby, was portrayed by Marq Parks, a local Black actor and LSU theater graduate.
It’s in line with one of the core goals outlined in the group’s mission statement: “to look past stereotypical casting and to provide opportunities for diversity on stage.”
“We have people of color on our cast that never would have thought they would be cast as that role,” Bartage says. “We’re very proud of that.”
So far, Bartage says, the enthusiasm with which the community has received 225 Theatre Collective has been encouraging.
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Even before the Gatsby show hit the stage, Bartage was fielding questions about what the group’s next production would be and whether they would be holding workshops in the future.
She says it’s become apparent that their mission—and its importance—is resonating.
More on 225 Theatre Collective
The company’s next event, “A Night of Monologues,” is March 12. Local thespians will deliver classic, contemporary and even some original monologues at Bee Nice Music in Capital Heights. Admission is free. Schedule a future audition or find out more about the company at 225theatrecollective.com.