once upon a time....

In 2002, Richard Stein and his wife Lisa Larson (see below), were asked to bring a live theatre performance to Nashville's Linden Waldorf School. Strega Nona, a beloved children's classic, was the inaugral performance for the Olde Worlde Theatre Company at Linden's annual Elves' Faire. After two performances, Richard knew he had to take the chance and launch the theatre as a viable performance group and approached the Belcourt Theater, Nashville's independent theatre,  as a possible home. The Linden performance had been video taped and Richard shared the video with a Belcourt patron and board member. She loved the performance and said, "yes". The rest, as they say, is history. Read more about Richard, Lisa and the OWTC board below.

Richard Stein
president and artistic director

Richard Stein knew from a young age that his passion was to make people laugh. Having grown up in New York City, he had the opportunity to study both experimental and children's theatre at Queens College. Followed by his time at Queens was intensive mime study with Tony Montanaro in Maine, Paul Curtis of The American Mime Theatre, and Moni Yakim at the School of Etienne Decroux in France. Upon returning to the US, Richard worked with Pierre Ford and improvisation once again in NYC. These studies allowed Richard to launch the Good Heart Clown Company upon his move to Tennessee and later the Olde Worlde Theatre Company, which is the resident performance company at Nashville's Belcourt Theater. 

Lisa Larson
​Managing Director

.isa Larson is the Managing Director of Olde Worlde Theatre. She likes to jest and says, "I just manage the director!" Lisa is passionate about Olde Worlde Theatre company, but also about child and elder care. Many families have entrusted their loved ones to Lisa and she has been a longtime favorite in her role as assistant at Linden Waldorf School. In addition, Lisa LOVES to crochet and her work can be seen at Love Fringe Benefits. Lisa, who is also Richards's wife, was part of OWTC from the first performance in 2002.  From Lisa, "I absolutely LOVE what it has turned into! I see OWTC has turned into Community Theatre. When you have people from 5 to 99 years old in the same room creating together, play writing, acting - it then turns into interacting on a social level and becomes a Magical time!"

Scene from "A Christmas Carol", 2015

Board of Directors

Thank you to the many volunteers through the years that have assisted us in keeping Olde Worlde Theatre Company
​ going. Below is a list of our current Board of Directors. We could not continue without the dedication of our volunteers. 

Richard Stein
President

Suzanne Coleman
Secretary

​John Coleman
Treasurer

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Olde Worlde Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit (Federal ID 47-1467244). All donations are tax-deductible.