Chrysalis Theatre, a cross-cultural performance ensemble, has presented innovative and progressive cultural work in Western Massachusetts since 1978.Our multidisciplinary group of artists draws on a range of cultural backgrounds to develop new music-theatre productions. In the last thirty-two years, we have created over fifty original productions, frequently using the medium of performance to explore social issues.

Drawing on the company’s multiple talents, we create music/theatre productions, and offer readings, workshops, and concerts in professional theatres, community centers, schools, museums, colleges, churches. We also offer theatre practitioners, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, dancers, choreographers, fiction writers, and editors a forum for their work, an opportunity for dialogue with audiences, and a chance for exchange with scholars and other artists.

Our productions tour New England and New York. Castles of Gold–songs and stories of Irish immigration, a music/theatre presentation was heard across the country and in New Zealand on Public Radio International. Despite Chrysalis’ small size and minimal staff, each season we support forty local, national, and international artists. We have developed collaborations between seasoned artists and community members, emerging artists, college students, and pregnant and parenting teens. We also convene forums for artistic and intellectual exchange. To maximize our impact and to nurture the cultural environment, Chrysalis has collaborated with Smith College, the Fund For Women Artists, World Rhythms, Enchanted Circle, Jelupa Productions, Western Wind, WatermoonMusicWorks, and the YWCA.

We have received Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Puffin Foundation, and Meet the Composer Grants for our work.