👋 Hey There!
Welcome to our little corner of Broadway right here in Eastern NC!
We Make Musicals.
Started in 2015 by then 14 year old Parker Harris as a 4-H project, Kids On Stage has quickly become a multifaceted producing organization presenting 5-6 musicals a year, offering a wide variety of educational opportunities, and competing on an international level at The Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, GA.
Who We Are. Kids On Stage is a youth community theatre group based in Greene County, NC, that provides educational performance experiences and opportunities.
Mission. We are committed to delivering the highest quality of musical theatre education through engaging performance experiences and opportunities for youth across Eastern North Carolina.
Vision. We aspire to foster and develop a deep love and appreciation of the arts in our cast members and our community.
"Seeing our cast members shine on stage and getting to spend time with them in rehearsal is an absolutely joy. However, it is deeper than that, it is the friendships, the sense of responsibility, the teamwork, the collective care, and the sense of empathy that they gain from putting together that musical. We are always going to strive to put on the best show possible, but we are going to have fun, and it is always going to be more than just a musical."
-Parker Harris, Founding Artistic Director
Our Core Values
We Believe That There’s A Place For Everyone. Kids On Stage is for everyone, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, or disability status. Our community is accepting, loving, and caring. We are thankful for everyone in the #KOSFamily.
We Learn And Grow. We have a passion for education and are intentional about integrating skill based instruction into our production experiences. Regardless of the cast member’s experience level, we believe that there is always room to learn and grow.
We Are Creative. Creativity is at the core of our work. We encourage our Dream Team and cast members to be creative in their work on stage and off. We value and encourage “thinking outside the box” because we believe that it will lead to captivating performances.
We Make Art That Matters. We believe that theatre can be a vessel to highlight various experiences and perspectives. We are committed to telling these stories, and we are vocal about their importance.
We Are Accessible. Cost should never be a barrier for anyone. We provide need based scholarships and work with local businesses to sponsor cast members participating in our program.
We Are Building Future Leaders. Ownership, teamwork, responsibility, & collaboration are at the heart of all our educational performance experiences and opportunities and are key attributes of good leaders. We believe these skills will take our cast members far in life post KOS even if they don’t become theatre professionals.
Meet our Artistic Director
Parker is an accomplished teaching artist and arts leader who believes there’s a place for everyone in the theater. He holds over 40 directing, music directing, and choreography credits for both JR Musicals and Full Broadway Versions across many producing organizations. He recently graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Human and Organizational Leadership Development (HOLD) with a minor in education. He serves as the Artistic Director for Kids On Stage in Snow Hill, NC, which he founded when he was 14. He leads a team to the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, GA, each year, where they have won multiple awards and established a reputation for excellent storytelling. His cast members have gone on to receive individual awards for their performances and be invited to special workshops in NYC of soon-to-be-released musical titles.
In 2019, he was awarded the Freddie G Inspiration Award for his work in the community by iTheatrics at the Junior Theater Festival. Now, he regularly works in the Triangle and eastern part of the state, ensuring that all kids have an opportunity to experience a love for theater. His directing philosophy centers around the power of the story in each piece of theatre he has the privilege of working on. He hopes each of his cast members never forgets that they have a powerful story to tell, and you do too.
Contact: parker@gckidsonstage.org
Awards
January 2017, Recognized as one of 4 national recipients of a US Cellular "The Future of Good" grant
January 2018, Aladdin Jr Pass The Lamp Initiative, Junior Theater Festival 2018
January 2018, Performance All Stars: Jack Rooney & Rachel Francis, Junior Theater Festival 2018
January 2019, Freddie G Inspiration Award, Junior Theater Festival 2019
January 2019, Performance All Stars: Trent Harris & Abigail Tyer, Junior Theater Festival 2019
June 2019, 20 under 40 Award, Parker Harris, Artistic Director
January 2022, Excellence In Acting, Kids On Stage All Star Team, Junior Theater Festival 2022 (Disney's Lion King JR)
January 2022, Outstanding Performance by an Individual, Jaiya Thompson, Junior Theater Festival 2022
January 2022, Performance All Stars: Alexander Suggs & Jaiya Thompson, Junior Theater Festival 2022
January 2023, Excellence In Acting, Kids On Stage All Star Team, Junior Theater Festival 2023 (Disney's Moana JR)
January 2023, Outstanding Performance by an Individual, Alexander Suggs, Junior Theater Festival 2023
January 2023, Performance All Stars: Alyssa Jones & Samantha Davis, Junior Theater Festival 2023
In The News
