Big Dawg Productions
A Non-Profit Theatre Company
Our History
Founded in 1995, our non-profit 501 (c)(3) theatre company, Big Dawg Productions, has been committed to producing entertaining, thought-provoking, and socially responsible theater, with an emphasis on education and the promotion of the performing arts. For our first 12 years we performed in rented spaces such as Thalian Hall’s Studio Theater, but in 2008, we decided we needed our own home, a place where we could build our sets in place, where the actors could rehearse in the same space they would be performing, and where we could store our sets, props and costumes. We moved to 613 Castle Street, site of the former Friendly’s Department Store in the heart of the Castle Street Art and Antiques District. Built around 1910, the building had been unused for several years, and after several months of cleaning and renovating it for use as a theater, we opened in July of 2009 with our acclaimed production of
A Thousand Clowns.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic The Cape Fear Playhouse on Castle Street became financially unsupportable as a performance space, due to limited capacity and increasing maintenance concerns. After much effort to find a new a venue, Big Dawg Production returned to Thalian Hall updated Studio Theatre reopening after 18 months with the acclaimed The Lifespan Of A Fact to sold out audiences nearly twice the size of the former Playhouse.
So,
as you can clearly see, Big Dawg Productions is not your average community theater company. Our mission goes beyond a commitment to providing leading-edge and critically acclaimed live theater. We, also, believe in education and outreach, and in ensuring that live theater is successfully woven into the very fabric of our society.
Artistic Director, Steve Vernon.
Steve brings with him over 20 years of experience in the Wilmington theatre community, including a decade as Artistic Director for BUMP Productions and 18 years with The Comically Impaired, Wilmington's longest running comedy improv troupe. He has directed, produced and acted in over 100 productions and is looking forward to developing strong ties to the wide array of talented artists that our community is so fortunate to have in its midst.
Board Of Directors
Jeff Loy - President
Zach Peschl - Vice President
Randy Davis - Treasurer
La’Tuan Danns, Chad Hsu, Terri Hsu, Dan Levine, Lee Lowrimore, Holli Sapperstein