Main Street Theater

Main Street Theater (MST) was founded in 1975 to provide stimulating opportunities for Houstonians of all ages to engage with the performing arts while providing meaningful and challenging professional work for Houston theater artists. We work hard to present theater that reflects the community we serve, particularly in our Theater for Youth, whose audience exactly mirrors the makeup of the city as a whole. Our audience comes to us seeking thoughtful and passionate plays for adults and children, and theater arts activities to immerse youth in performing arts experiences created out of their own ideas and imaginations. This is also what motivates our staff, our artists, and our Board. Through our 3 programs (MainStage, Theater for Youth, and Education Department), Main Street Theater reached an audience of over 158,000 in the 2013-2014 season.  

Founding Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden established a collective of theater professionals in a temporary home at Autry House, the Episcopal Diocese’s community center on Main Street. Encouraged by critical acclaim and audience growth, in 1981 the company moved MST to larger quarters in Rice Village where the theater developed its intimate playing style in its 99-seat house (the MainStage now receives national attention). This November we will begin a massive renovation of the space, bringing our physical facility up to the high standards that have been on our stage for years. 

MST also hosts year-round classes and camps through our Education Department at our own spaces and around the Greater Houston area in schools, community centers, and residential treatment facilities for youth in Harris County.