The Stage

The Stage at Island Park is the Fargo Moorhead Community Theater (FMCT) that was founded in 1946 and focuses on providing theatrical and educational opportunities to the Fargo community. The Stage is the longest running community theater organization in the Red River Valley. The FMCT was housed for many years in the open-air gazebo located in the park. However, the old pavilion is no longer standing. The Stage now utilizes the new Katherine Kilbourne Burgum pavilion built in 2011.

The building currently housing the Stage was built in the 1960s and is similar to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, with a thrust stage and three-fourths theater-in-round effect. The theater was supported by local Unions and the Fargo Park District. The stage was entirely built by community members and no capital funding was utilized in the Stage’s construction.

Sources:

1. "The Stage at Island Park," History, http://www.fmct.org/history.html.