Our Story

The Stage Left Theatre Company was founded in 2016 by Kara Rose and Lexi Kosla. The two worked together through the Ludington Area Jaycees to create and produce the first ever Stratford on the Avenue Theatre Festival in the summer of 2016, along with the help of local actors and supporters.

                    Kara Rose, Photo Courtesy of                                           Photography by Sue Brown

The pair decided to create their own company with the mission of providing a variety of unique theatre experiences to the community and offering educational workshops and acting opportunities to people of all ages. In 2017, the group received it’s  501(c)3 non-profit status with the IRS and is registered as a non-profit organization with the State of Michigan.

                           Lexi Kosla, Photo Courtesy of                                                   Real Life Photography by Ellen

Rose is the company’s Artistic Director and a Ludington native who studied Theatre Performance at Western Michigan University before moving to Los Angeles. She was a working actress there for many years and returned to Ludington to be closer to family. Her theatre credits include Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal, Elizabeth in Frankenstein, Antigone in Antigone, Ophelia in Hamlet, Titania and Helena in different productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Marianna in Measure for Measure, and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. She’s also performed in television productions of The Gilmore Girls, The Drew Carey Show, All About Jim, The West Wing, Charmed, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On film, she has made appearances in Little Black Book, Day of Conception, and Dead and Gone.

Kosla, the company’s Managing Director, has always had a fondness for Shakespeare and musical theatre. Through her mother, she discovered the Lakeside Shakespeare Company in Frankfort which performs an outdoor Shakespeare festival each year. Her goal was to someday see a similar festival held in the Ludington area. Lexi has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Grand Valley State University and works for Advantage Marketing & Publications in Ludington. She is very active in the community especially through her work with the Ludington Area Jaycees and Ludrock, and is a performer, herself, as the lead vocalist for two local bands: High Fidelity and Redux.