Dog Story Theater

The new Dog Story Theater is located at 1115 Taylor NW (just south of Plainfield and Leonard). The parking lot and main entrance are behind the building on Ionia St., and barrier-free parking is available on Coldbrook St. on the south side of the building.

We're a little hard to find the first time around, so look for the humungous cell phone tower that's right outside our front door. You can see it all the way up and down Plainfield.

Check out our new extended events calendar to see what's coming up in the next few months. Of course, every Monday is Comedy Monday at Dog Story Theater, with new and returning hilarious acts coming in every week.

the inside story

You might be thinking, "Dog Story? Huh?" Here's how it lays out: In 2007, Jay Harnish and Josh Fremer, two Grand Rapids residents and theater veterans, were featured in Black Hills Theatre's production of The Zoo Story. The production was a success and both were eager to work together again; however, they were frustrated by the lack of affordable spaces that were appropriate for live performances.

Spurred by this frustration, they recruited fellow actor/producers Amy McFadden and Becki West to open a new, inexpensive, attractive venue for small theatrical performances. They named the new group Dog Story Theater after the "story of Jerry and the Dog" monologue from The Zoo Story, incorporated as a non-profit, and began contacting property owners around Grand Rapids to find a "home."

After a year of preparation, Dog Story Theater opened a brand-new custom-built black box theater in downtown Grand Rapids in August 2008. A black box theater is literally that: a big rectangular room without a fixed stage or seating so the directors can arrange it any way they choose.

This exciting new space features high-quality live performances produced by local and touring artists and companies. Our mission is to further the arts by providing this affordable space that inspires creativity, and to make theater accessible to a variety of audiences with our casual atmosphere, intimate seating, and ticket prices that are more aligned with the movies than more elaborate spaces have to charge.

Come to Dog Story Theater at 1115 Taylor, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503; we have barrier-free parking on Taylor St. and parking in the lot on Ionia in front of DST's side entrance.

Dog Story Theater is a non-profit corporation organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so using a debit or credit card through Google Checkout. If you'd prefer to make a donation by cash or check, please contact our box office. Every donation helps keep ticket prices lower.