Because we believe young people deserve the finest art we can create for them, we honor and support the professional artists who do the work of our mission.

Because we appreciate how the arts celebrate our differences and cultivate common ground, we create a welcoming environment for all people in all our work.

Because we embrace creative risk-taking, we are committed to the development and production of new plays.

Because we understand that learning through the arts inspires joy, opens doors to self-discovery, and builds bridges to lifelong learning, we design and teach educational programs for young people and adults.

Because we believe all young people deserve access to the arts, we take our programs to diverse settings throughout the St. Louis region.

Because we choose to remain focused on our mission and purpose, we forge partnerships with schools, organizations, and institutions to serve our community effectively.

Because we know the arts are irreplaceable avenues for expressing and experiencing the full measure of what it is to be human, we advocate for the arts in all our lives.

In 1973, artist Zaro Weil and educator Lynn Rubright both felt that impulse. What they made up was Metro Theater Company.*

Zaro and Lynn met in the early 1970s at an improvisational theater workshop.  At the time, Zaro was studying theater at Webster University, and Lynn was teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in Kirkwood.  Both women were interested in creative drama.

To explore their shared interest, Zaro visited Lynn’s class once a week, where she led the students in activities that included movement, improvisation, music,and drama.  After a year, Zaro convinced Lynn to give up classroom teaching so that together they could start a professional touring theater for young people.

Zaro and Lynn gathered a diverse group of artists and played around with ideas.  Young people were the inspiration and intended audience.  What developed was not strictly theater, but a distinctive blend of drama, music, storytelling, and dance.  School principals were invited to see the result, and they invited Zaro and Lynn to bring their performances to schools.

In nearly four decades, Metro Theater Company has toured nearly 40 productions – over 30 of them original works – to 41 states, as well as to Canada, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan.  Two million people across the country and around the world have seen our work. We still make theater, and we still tour, now primarily throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region, as well as outlying communities in Missouri and southern Illinois.

Like Zaro and Lynn, we continue to be both artists and educators.  Nurturing creative learning remains a key purpose of our work, and our educational programs have evolved considerably over the last decade to serve that purpose.  Our mission thrives particularly in schools, though we are delighted to go wherever there are young people to greet us!

* Originally, we were known as Metro Theater Circus; we changed our name to Metro Theater Company in 1992.