Back in 2015, Lilli & AJ assembled a team in small-town Indiana to produce a play
in 7 days. There was something so personal and memorable in our guerilla theatre-
making, that we spent the next 7 years trying to understand why.
Everyone at Stomping Ground owes some degree of debt to the community theatres
that helped raise us in our small corners of the world. They are the unsung heroes of
our industry. They swing their doors open far and wide to the misfits, creatives, and outcasts in our communities and lets them play. Today there are close to 1,900 community theatre
stages just in the United States.
Returning to the stomping grounds of where we all first stood on stage was the
moment we realized there was a missing link between rural community theatres and
professional theatre... and link by link we hope to connect.
"A week at Stomping Ground was a maelstrom of inspiration and creativity in which I had the privilege of working with local actors to bring a powerful
and impactful play to their community."
Olivia Hebert, actor & writer
"The beauty of the project was the local theatre’s willingness to risk producing a vehicle this raw coupled with the New York performers’ capacity to embrace the local performers. The result was emotional and meaningful.
It wasn't about learning.
It was about connecting."
Larry Hollan
Artistic Director
Orange County Players
"The performance left me unsure which role was filled by locals and which by the professionals, a testament to the preparation
and dedication of all involved. Enriching and enlivening the
arts scene in rural spaces
is a significant boost to
the quality of place
and sense of pride in
those communities. It is
an admirable, exhausting
and, I’m sure, incredibly rewarding experience."
Jane L. Rogan
Director, Sustaining Hoosier Communities
Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement
Melissa S. Fry, Ph.D.
Director of the Applied Research and Education Center
Director of Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Associate Professor of Sociology
"As a queer individual who has grown up in this community, it was incredibly encouraging and healing to see these types of topics being introduced to our small community while visiting home. It was a
great reminder that,
(while I acknowledge
the nuances and
barriers that our
society has created),
queer art can and
should be celebrated
in various different
spaces."
Brooklynn Ault
Filmmaker, Indiana Native
"Stomping Ground's desire to bring what would normally be considered “taboo” subjects to smaller communities is to be admired. Forcing others to consider the
world from a much different perspective, to one which
everyone has been introduced."
Rita H. Shourds, Ed.D.
President/CEO
Align Southern Indiana
"The show brings LGBTQ+
characters to rural
communities in a story to
which everyone can relate. This
is the gift of theatre—pushing us to engage in perspective-taking and identify experiences that may be different from our own while also reminding us of our shared human experience. The Stomping Ground Theatre Project brings fresh energy and new storylines to rural community
theatre in ways that have great
potential to expand our thinking,
nurture compassion, and promote the value of the arts to rural development."
2022: Salem, Indiana
The Gary Wayne Hartsook Hall sits just down the street from the High School and the Hospital and has been home to the Pied Piper's Children's Theatre and the Washington County Actors Community Theatre for over thirty years.
The week before rehearsals began, we worked hand-in-hand with the members of the community to give the theatre some tender love & care. Lilli & AJ shadowed their Neil Simon show to learn the ropes of the space, and collaborated on some projects.
While in Salem, we painted the kitchen and bathroom walls, floors, and doors; cleaned out old storage; added lobby doors to prevent light pollution; & installed an iMac computer with professional sound software.
By the time the New York team arrived for rehearsals, we had already fallen deeply in love with this space that sits just down the street from the High School and the Hospital... as well as those who remain the care-takers of Hartsook Hall and all the local artists who pass through those doors.
"There was an indelible connection between the artists and the audience that was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced."
Jake Brasch, actor & writer
2022 Production of RAT JAW. Photos by Brandy Roll; Sound & Lights by Joshua Daniel Stallings; Scenic by AJ Clauss; Costumes by Lilli Hokama, & SFX by Rachel Casey DuFour.