THE GAMBLER

Justin Ball bets on his ability to deepen Stage Door’s community ties

STORY: Michael Jacobs

Joann Vitelli

A performing arts academy with year-round classes, student companies, summer camps, private lessons and school programs.

Cultural arts programming, including cultural heritage days and rental to outside troupes.

Ball is stacking the deck with diversity. He hopes to stage contemporary works and is proud that none of this season’s directors is a white man.

Accessibility is another chip in his stack. For the 50th season, a new mobile unit will bring theater to places such as schools, retirement homes and veterans centers.

“I am really excited to put my mark on the organization and fig- ure out how we can be as inclusive as possible,” Ball says.

Having raised corporate sponsorships from a pre-COVID average of $7,000 to $30,000 and counting, he is ready to go all in with a capital campaign. Inside, the former school cafeteria lacks flexibility with its fixed stage and low ceilings. Outside, signage is outdated and hard to see.

Ball puts all his cards on the table: “I truly believe that theater can educate, can transform communities, can enlighten us. This little theater here in Dunwoody has the opportunity to improve our lives.” n

Race Relations And Peter Pan

Stage Door has two main stage shows left in its 49th season:

The Niceties

An intense drama about race relations based on real events at Yale in 2016; March 17 to April 2.

Peter and the Starcatcher

The musical origin story of Peter Pan, featuring academy students alongside professionals; May 12 to 28.

Shows are on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.