The Center Stage Project

10/09/2026

Share this post and congratulate everyone who applied!

Hold onto your playbills, Buffalo County—we’re hitting a very different kind of stage, and we need our ensemble in the front row! 🎭✨

The Center Stage Project is officially a finalist for Big Idea Buffalo County!

Here’s the gig: we get exactly two minutes on the mic to make our pitch, share our mission of musical revues/one-acts, express our vision for growing community arts, and compete for $5,000 to fund our upcoming projects, operational costs, and start up funds.

Two minutes? That’s shorter than a standard overture. But here is the best plot twist: THE AUDIENCE VOTE COUNTS AS THE 4TH JUDGE!

That means you aren't just sitting in the house—you hold the review card. If you want to see more show tunes, variety nights, and community sparkle lighting up Kearney, we need your vote in the room!

THE RUN OF SHOW:
📍 Venue: The World Theatre (on the Bricks!)
🗓 Date: Thursday, October 29th
🥂 5:00 PM: Social Hour & Mingling (grab a drink, talk shop, say hi!)
🎤 6:00 PM: The Pitch Competition begins

Bring your friends, bring your loudest applause, and help us turn two minutes on stage into a huge win for Buffalo County talent! 💡🎶

07/18/2026

✨ Spotlight on an amazing local partner! ✨

We know we’ve already shared this exciting news, but we just have to take a moment to shine the light on our neighbors over at Affiliated Brokers Insurance once again! 🎭🌟

As our first-ever supporter, their early belief in us means the absolute world. They aren't just supporting our organization—they are directly championing local artists and making sure our community’s creative voices have a stage to shine on. 🎬🎨

We are incredibly grateful to have such kind, supportive, and community-minded neighbors helping us bring our vision to life. Thank you, Affiliated Brokers Insurance, for standing backstage with us from day one and investing in the local arts! 🙌❤️

If you or anyone you know is interested in helping us get off our feet and supporting this journey, we would love to connect! Reach out to [email protected], and one of our board members will get back to you as soon as they can! 💌✨

07/14/2026

✨ Cue the overture, bring up the lights, and cue the applause! 🎭✨

We are absolutely buzzing with gratitude today! A massive, standing-ovation worthy THANK YOU to an anonymous donor who just gifted $250 to help support our vision! 🌟

This incredible generosity is helping us get all of our ducks in a row (and our sheet music, sets, and dancing shoes, too!) so we can officially launch the exciting projects we’ve been planning behind the scenes. We cannot wait to bring them to life for you! 🎬💃

Behind every great show is an amazing community of supporters. If you love the performing arts and want to help us build this dream from the ground up, we would be so honored to have you in our circle of supporters! Every bit of support helps us set the stage for what's next—no desperate jazz hands required, we promise! 😉

Ready to join our cast of changemakers? You can make a secure donation to The Center Stage Project by clicking the link below to visit our page through the Kearney Area Community Foundation. Thank you for believing in the magic we're building together! 🎟️🎉

https://kearneyfoundation.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3244

06/23/2026

Break a leg to our incredible neighbors in the arts, Crane River Theater, as Footloose officially opens tonight! 🕺✨

We know the entire cast, crew, and creative team have been working tirelessly to kick off their Sunday shoes and bring Bomont to life right here in Kearney.

While we all love the high-energy dancing and iconic tracks, Footloose is about so much more than just tearing up the gym floor. At its heart, this beautiful story reminds us of the profound importance of human conversation and true connection. It’s a powerful reminder of what happens when we stop silencing one another, pull down the barriers, and actually take the time to listen, heal, and connect as a community.

To everyone taking the stage or working magic behind the scenes: we see your hard work, and we are rooting for you! Go show everyone that this is our time! 🎸🎶

Get your tickets!
https://cranerivertheater.org/footloose-2/

06/02/2026

GO! Just go! Support our neighbors in the arts!

We are very proud to announce our very first show!
Lawless Disorder.
Improv comedy based on your s**t luck. 🪩

We take your stories about the most unbearable humans and situations in your life and turn them into completely improvised scenes, characters, and public emotional damage.

This will be the first ever performance in our brand new venue! This show will be performed only once a month so don't miss this dumpster fire. Every show is different because every audience has fresh trauma to unpack.

June 25th, 2026
Doors @ 6:30pm
Showtime 7:00pm
1220 Central Avenue, Unit 3
(Rear south entrance)
Our shows are 16+ 💃🏻

This first show will be FREE WILL DONATION. But we only have seating for up to 60 ticket holders so grab them NOW through this EventBrite link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1989886096882?aff=oddtdtcreator

Or by calling us!
402•417•2619

05/20/2026

Congrats to everyone in Fake Friends Improv!

If you haven't checked them out, give them a follow and explore the world of performance with this awesome group of people, too!

Our Final Form. 🪩

These are your new FAKE FRIENDS. Everyone in this picture has been working so hard and we are really putting together something special.

BIG announcements coming soon.
First LIVE show in June.
Venue. Website.
Unhinged live improv right here in Kearney, Nebraska. 👯‍♀️

05/19/2026

🕺 KICK OFF YOUR SUNDAY SHOES, KEARNEY! 🕺

The wait is officially over, and we are cutting loose with excitement! Huge congratulations to the incredibly talented cast of Crane River Theater’s upcoming production of Footloose! 👏🎉

We are absolutely thrilled to see such an amazing mix of talent taking the stage:
✨ Local faces we know and love!
✨ Returning Crane alumni we can't wait to see back in action!
✨ Brand-new talent we are so excited to welcome to the CRT family!

To the entire cast and crew: the whole neighborhood is already cheering you on! We know how much heart and energy you’re going to pour into this show, and we can’t wait to be the loudest audience in town.

Grab your dancing shoes and let’s do this—everybody cut Footloose! 🎭✨

05/19/2026

This is what theater is all about not to mention Sergei...you did a great job! We almost thought you were the murderer in the show. 🤔

Kearney Community Theater does another great round of casting. 🥹🥹

Now...if Sergei had that great of a time...go audition for their next show!

You never know until you come audition!
And we have some auditions tonight at 7 PM for Groundhog Day!

We are looking for 9 women and 11 men (18+) to have a fun filled summer with us! Come on out tonight and give it a try! All the details are on our Facebook event page.

Thanks for the shout out, Sergei (Major Hector Blunt)!

05/17/2026

🎭 THE SHOW MUST GO ON! 🌪️
We have got to tip our absolute highest top hats to the incredible cast and crew of *Alice in Wonderland Jr.*!

Talk about true theatrical professionalism. When a possible tornado interrupts your show and forces a mid-performance break, it would be easy for anyone to lose their focus. But not these Horizon Middle School students.

They didn't just handle the unexpected with grace—they brought us right back down the rabbit hole, stepped back onto that stage, and delivered an absolutely amazing, unforgettable performance. Their energy, resilience, and dedication to their craft left the entire audience completely awed.

To the brilliant cast, the hardworking crew, and everyone behind the scenes: you proved that no matter what happens, the theater magic alive at Horizon can't be shaken. We are so incredibly proud of you all. Way to steal the show! 🌟👏

Rock

05/16/2026

🎭 DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WE GO! 🐇🎩

Okay, so we might be a tad bit late to the tea party and missed the official Opening Day post—but as the White Rabbit says, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Luckily, we aren't completely out of time! ⏰✨

Horizon Middle School’s absolutely wonder-ful production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. officially opened yesterday, May 15th!

The good news? You haven't gone entirely mad yet, because you still have ONE MORE CHANCE at 7:00 PM to catch this incredible cast and crew before they close the curtain! 🌹🃏

Don't paint the roses red by missing out on supporting the amazing youth theater right here in our community. Grab your tickets, don't be late for this very important date, and go show these talented kids some love!

Break a leg to the cast and crew on your final performance! We know you're going to knock it out of the Wunderland park! 🎪👏