Parallel 45 Theatre

P45 SUMMER THEATRE FESTIVAL Every summer, Parallel 45 produces a festival of plays in the relaxed setting of the Civic Center Park in Traverse City. Artists from across the country and around the world convene on P45’s new, state-of-the-art stage to perform adventurous, boundary-pushing musicals, plays, and devised works for all ages-rotating daily. Local food vendors, a well-stocked bar, and live music allow our community to gather in celebration of the theatre and the beauty of northwest Michigan. During the shoulder seasons, Parallel 45 operates a theatre education program and produces a free-to-the-public contemporary play reading series. WHY With play, joy, and intellectual rigor, we attack the notion that there is one correct way to look at the world. P45 complements an industry of theatre artists desperate for new voices, new material, and new stories by taking a strong look at our canon, breaking toxic values embedded within, and imagining a new path forward. We believe that a flourishing and fulfilling cultural experience, to which people from every walk of life are invited—and within which they can see themselves reflected—is essential to our democracy and our quality of life in small-town America. For this reason, we look to the theatre as our public forum, our town square, a place where ideas can be exchanged with more dignity, respect, and efficacy than in other areas of our society. Our greatest asset is our joyful, open, intellectually curious audience, always ready to explore.