 | Barnyard Theatre was formed in 2004 by a group of high school theatre buddies then attending colleges all over the country. There are different starts to this story depending on who you ask. One story begins when Brian Oglesby (who writes under the name "Briandaniel Oglesby" now) had a reading of his play My Avisia Winger in 2003. Steven Schmidt jokingly offered to direct it, and Brian took him seriously. Another story begins when Ed Hunt, also jokingly, offered his family barn to Steve as a performance space. Steve took him seriously. Another story starts when Steve met with Martin Dubcovsky, our stage manager, on a beach in San Diego. There they came up with the name. Martin joked that it was all very organic, and that's how our motto was born. Everything was from the ground up. An original work in a space where we had to load in every batten, audience chair, light. Regardless, this group of friends from high school came together in Davis that summer and converted the old Schmeiser Barn into a theatre. And we never tired of hearing comparisons to Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. The following summer, the barn became a nightclub when we produced company members Jennifer Provenza and Ian Wallace's The Sterling Affair, a musical. In 2006, we added the Nights of New Plays Festival so that we could focus on the developing and showcasing scripts alongside our elaborate productions. We incorporated under the name Organic Stage Productions in 2008, and established a dba of Barnyard Theatre. Shortly after we received approval for nonprofit status. |