Who the Heck is Pallas? A Note from the Artistic Director, Tracey Chessum

Don’t worry – you’re not the first person to ask. Pallas appears in Greek Mythology. The daughter of Triton, Pallas was raised alongside Athena, goddess of wisdom, courage, strength, and inspiration. She was Athena’s closest friend, and they often engaged in friendly fights and competitions. She was Athena’s equal and her favorite sparring partner. While Athena, goddess of wisdom, inspiration and the arts, may represent much of what we seek as working artists, her unpredictable nature is not for us. We are not the Athena Theatre Collective. We want to be more like Pallas, acting as a sounding board and sparring partner for working artists. Pallas Theatre Collective collaborates with artists and provides them with the opportunity to explore their work and find their perfect audience. We are here for anyone in need of a place to delve into his or her craft. Pallas herself is not a household name, but she helped Athena gain strength and recognition. In our theatre collective, we strive to emulate Pallas’ selfless spirit, her love, and her dedication.

Our Mission

Pallas Theatre Collective (PTC) exists to develop and workshop new original musicals, and to support creative individuals who seek to explore new approaches, processes, and forms of dramatic expression. PTC seeks to be an incubator for talented and visionary artists, providing resources and a home for theatrical practitioners. PTC stands in the gap for dynamic new musicals between the creative process and the university, small theatre, and regional theatre stages, fostering works that are well-structured, intellectually stimulating, engaging, commercially viable, and uniquely suited to the academic or regional environments. In all of its work, PTC believes in true ensemble work, expressed through collective enterprise, collaboration between scholars and practitioners, and direct audience engagement.

Here’s the quick and dirty version:

• At a time when the production of new musicals depends heavily on name and artist recognition, we are an outlet through which these musicals can gain exposure and a grassroots following, giving them the recognition they need for the possibility of a full production elsewhere.
• We foster and facilitate a creative environment for a dynamic consortium of artists, providing them with an umbrella organization beneath which they can work. Our season is balanced by one new musical and at least two other shows chosen by our artistic collective.
• We are minimalist in our productions so that more artists can be seen by more audiences.
• Pallas provides a season layout (May-September) that gives theatre scholars an opportunity to add to their tenure applications!