WHo we are

We began in 2016, a ragtag bunch producing Shakespeare in the woods.

We strive to honor that sense of uninhibited play, creativity, rule breaking, and creating space for everyone.

Mission

Struts & Frets Theatre Company is dedicated to producing innovative professional theatre through our collaborative, artist-driven storytelling.

Both onstage and off, S&F strives to make theatre accessible for all.

We bring social impact at the highest level for our rural community through our productions of Shakespeare’s work, exciting new plays, and other classical playwrights.

S&F nurtures artists of all levels, with our Youth Ensemble program, providing tuition free apprenticeships, and by investing in artists returning to the craft after time away, thereby creating intergenerational connections.

Dedicated to our community, we promote engagement alongside local businesses through our use of nontraditional theatrical venues.

Claire Coulson as Meg, Maddie Blanchard as Amy, Tessa Douangaphaivong as Beth
Little Women, 2023

History

Struts & Frets has been in production since 2016, and officially incorporated and fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas since 2021.

In our early years, all proceeds raised were donated to other nonprofits like the ACLU and First Book. In 2020, we fundraised thousands of dollars for Salem Cinema, our local arthouse movie theater, experiencing economic hardship during the pandemic.

We created our Youth Ensemble Program in 2022, and have since provided 30+ student internships on our professional productions. Many alumni cite S&F for their successes in their careers and further education.

S&F is based in the mid-Willamette Valley. We are nomadic and don’t call any one city our home. We believe in our local artists, and our company of artists and Youth Ensemble members come from communities as far as Portland and Eugene.

In 2025, S&F was awarded the Michael Hibbard Community Through Theatre Award.

Our Resident Company has experience both as artists and educators from companies including: the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 59E59 (Off-Bway), Theatre Row (Off-Bway), Third Rail Repertory, the 5th Ave, Arena Stage, Oregon Children's Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Valley Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Fringe, ShakespeareAMERICA Institute, as well as being involved in many local community theaters, and high school theatre companies.

Jeff Sanders as Parolles, Lucas Hill as Lafew
All's Well That Ends Well 2024

Andi Moring as Paulina, Shay Haase as Hermoine
The Winter's Tale, 2023

VALUES

EDUCATION and FUTURE

We believe in legacy and creating access to careers in the arts for local students.
We believe investing in the next generations of theatre practitioners and patrons by creating accessible, inclusive programs that nurture and include them in the storytelling.
We believe in providing space for intergenerational connections, communication, and collaboration between our Youth Ensemble and Adult Company.

REPRESENTATION

We are a femme, queer-run company and we believe in creating work that both supports and uplifts communities that have been othered and oppressed.
We whole heartedly believe in creating work for all, by all. We commit to work to dismantle systems of oppression in ourselves, our work, our organization, and our community.
We seek to include marginalized voices in our community and seek to remove barriers to inclusion.

COMMUNITY

It is of the utmost important to connect to our community both through our company and our audiences.
Our company is not limited by experience, we believe in fostering artists of all backgrounds regardless of age and experience.
We partner with local businesses to bring our audiences to support a hyper-local focused community.

EXCELLENCE

We believe in producing work of the highest caliber in everything we do through dedication, education, exploration, and cultivation.
We achieve this through our collaborative storytelling and trusting the expertise of our company.