7 Stages Theatre

Site Narrative

Since 2014, Heidi S. Howard has served as the Artistic Director for 7 Stages Theatre, having previously served as the company’s Education Director and Production Manager. Identifying with the LGBTQ+ community, Howard has helped to further 7 Stages’s commitment to engaging “artists and audiences by focusing on the social, political, and spiritual values of contemporary culture” and supporting the “development of new plays, new playwrights, and new methods of collaboration.”

Originally located on Moreland Avenue, the theatre now occupies a prominent position on Euclid Avenue in Little Five Points. Since 1979, 7 Stages has premiered and produced many works by LGBTQ+ artists as well as works featuring LGBTQ+ content, including one of the first American dramas about AIDS, Warren by Rebecca Ranson, during its 1984–1985 season. 7 Stages is committed to nurturing local LGBTQ+ talent. The company premiered numerous works of gay playwright in residence and former Emory University Creative Writing professor, Jim Grimsley (including Mr. Universe, multiple seasons, and Belle Ives, 1990–1991 season) as well as an adaptation of Grimsley’s novel Dream Boy by Eric Rosen (1997-1998 season). Visiting Artist Tim Miller’s Glory Box and Us were also produced at 7 Stages. Mississippi native and Atlanta local playwright Topher Payne’s Angry Fags premiered at 7 Stages during the 2012–2013 season with an updated version in the 2018–2019 season.

Among recent productions is DYSPHORIA, OR, HORMONES DON’T HARM TRANS PEOPLE—PEOPLE DO, a 2021 online storytelling event with Scott Turner Schofield, an Artistic Associate and Teaching Artist with 7 Stages.

7 Stages Theatre is one of the theatre partners of the Atlanta based community group Gays for Plays.

Resources

7 Stages Theatre. https://www.7stages.org/

7 Stages Digital Collection, Georgia State University, https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/digital/search/collection/SevenStages!university/searchterm/7%20stages%20theatre%20(atlanta%2C%20ga.)!7%20Stages/field/subjec!all/mode/exact!all/conn/and!all/order/nosort/ad/asc/page/1

Janich, Kathy. “Playwright Topher Payne surprises, updates twisty drama ‘Angry Fags’ for the Trump era.” ARTS ATL. 3 April 2019. https://www.artsatl.org/topher-payne-updates-his-play-angry-fags-for-the-trump-era/?fbclid=IwAR2z3stXLAylNktyoGqknUR-V3VfesDvVhZRN2PrETQXLlXtWrOpzDnTZNo

Osborne, Bert. “7 Stages new guard offers its first production.” Atlanta Journal Constitution. 26 February 2013. https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/arts–theater/stages-new-guard-offers-its-first-production/KBNZ79ExyW0NUTyO2UwiWN/