Two St. Paul theaters joining forces — to create 'theater for life'

Two St. Paul theater companies are joining forces to create a theater destination for all ages. SteppingStone Theatre for Youth is moving in with Park Square Theatre in downtown St. Paul, the two theaters announced Tuesday.

SteppingStone artistic executive director Mark Ferraro-Hauck said the union will save both companies money while allowing them to grow their audiences. He said for now, the two theater companies will remain separate legal entities.

"The most important thing was that we really felt that there was a space within the Twin Cities theater community for theater that you could attend as a child and still come back to as an adult and it was still your home,” said Ferraro-Hauck.

SteppingStone Theatre is in the process of selling its current building next to the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

"The plan though is to eventually bring the two organizations together. We're not starting with that because we want to take the time to figure out how this works, make sure that we get all the pieces working well, and then we'll be looking at the possibility of a merger down the road,” Ferraro-Hauck said.

Starting in September, Ferraro-Hauck will also serve as Park Square's interim executive director. That's when Park Square's current executive director, Michael-jon Pease, leaves for a new position with the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy.

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