Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective Inc. is a 501(c) 3 certified non-profit organization, committed to “Making Theatre, Building Community, Changing the World, One Play at a Time”. We believe that audiences look to the arts to see beyond themselves and their own boundaries. We believe the arts are a valuable educational tool, capable of bridging social and cultural gaps. We believe the arts are a catalyst for social change and transformation. We hope to increase and sustain opportunities for more diversity within the Western North Carolina performing arts community by producing and working with other performance artists or groups to present works that confront issues of social diversity in a provocative way, and by providing opportunities for audiences to explore visions of our diverse world.
A Note From Our Founder and Managing Artistic Director, Stephanie Hickling Beckman
Stories That Remember, Voices That Rise
Dear Friends
As we step into a new season, we’re thrilled to share a lineup that celebrates the heart of our mission: bold storytelling, local artistry, and theatre that sparks conversation, connection, and change. This year, we are proud to uplift original works by local playwrights, continuing our commitment to nurturing homegrown voices whose stories reflect the richness and complexity of our community. You’ll also experience two powerful one-man shows, each offering an intimate, deeply human journey that reminds us how transformative a single voice onstage can be.
In February, we honor Black History Month with a tribute to the award‑winning Black playwrights who reshaped the landscape of American theatre. Their courage, brilliance, and innovation opened doors for generations of artists, and we are humbled to celebrate their legacy with you.
As always, your presence—your laughter, your breath, your willingness to lean into the work—makes this theatre possible. Thank you for standing with us, season after season, as we continue to create space for stories that matter.
Every donation we receive from our patrons is a critical part of our creative capacity and community giving. With ticket sales covering only 35% of our annual expenses, we rely on generous donor support to provide exceptional theatre experiences, while continuing to be a Theatre Company that supports the community. Please consider making your tax-deductible donation today. Your gift makes what we do on stage and in the community possible!
Thank you for believing in the Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective and what it represents in our community.
I look forward to seeing you at the theatre soon!
With gratitude,
Stephanie
Stephanie Hickling Beckman, enjoys a life full of Drama. She has been attached to theatre in one way or another since she fell in love with it decades ago. She has acted in, directed, stage managed or produced somewhere close to eighty plays in twenty years, but finds she prefers directing most. Stephanie is the founder and Managing Artistic Director of Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective, located right here in Asheville. Her personal ethos is centered around directing and producing theatre that features people of color, and recognizes and honors our differences in a safe and positive environment.
“Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective — year after year — challenges audiences to acknowledge our deepest social conflicts, to sort out options for resolving same, and then to act for social change”
– Jim Cavener, Asheville Citizen Times.
