mBS productions
ABOUT: MBS Productions specialize in "New Theatre": New Plays, New Musicals, New Translations and New Adaptations of Classic Works. In essence, every play or musical they do is a World Premier. MBS is the only Theatrical Production company in North Texas that specializes in exclusively producing works previously unseen for the stage. Their audiences are the most adventurous, sophisticated, and eager, for they know that they'll get to experience new works for the stage.
MBS was founded in 2004 by Mark-Brian Sonna when he produced the show "Theatre of Death" which was presented at the Teatro Dallas space for the Halloween season. The show consisted of 6 short plays dating from the middle ages through the present day all dealing with Death. Two of the plays were world premiers, three were new translations, and one was an adaptation of an existing work. This set the tone for what was to come. In 2005 they did a second show of Theatre of Death to kick off a 3 show season that carried them through the summer of 2006. In our 2006/2007 season they presented 5 plays. MBS now currently produces 6 shows a year as well as assist and serve as consultants to other theatre companies in developing and producing new and existing plays for their audiences.
As the amount of plays they produce grow so do their audiences. They have gone from doing 2 weekend engagements to an average of 4 week runs for our shows. They are one of the only theatre groups that has succesfully been able to cultivate weekday audiences, making their performance schedule fuller then most other small theatres. In fact, because of high ticket demand they have been known to add shows on Monday and Tuesday evenings to accomodate audiences.
MBS Productions have received countless critical raves for every show produced, and they are pleased to say that for the first 2 years they were eligible for the prestigious Column Awards every show they produced generated a nomination. Since then every year one of their World Premiers has received a "Best New Play" nomination and our creative team and actors continue to receive nominations and awards for their artistic achievements. Teaming up with RoverDramawerks generated nominations for their play "Surviving Grace" and teaming up with Queer Voltage resulted in the play "Queer Anarchy" which was voted as being the "Best Stage Production" of 2007 according to the Dallas Voice readership.
Their business model is unique in the theatre community. They are a for profit theatre group, yet they pay all our staff and artists on a per-show profit share basis. This means that every performer, technician, staff, has a vested interest in making the show a success, thus insuring and maximizing the artistic contribution of each individual involved in the production. Though contributions are not tax deductible, not a cent is ever wasted, and the monies contributed directly affect the profit margin of the show. In other words, your contribution directly helps the artists involved!
Office/Rehearsal Address:
8204 Elmbrook Drive, Suite 305 M
Dallas, TX 75247
Performance Address:
Stone Cottage Theatre
15650 Addison Road
Addison, TX 75001
Phone: 214.477.4942
Email: info@Mark-BrianSonna.com
