The five founders of Sierra Rep are David and Kathryn Kahn, Doug Brennan, and Sara and Dennis Jones, met at the Fallon House Theatre. As the five worked on sets, and costumes and sat together talking late into the night, the idea of Sierra Rep was planted and nurtured. Their dream was to establish a professional performing arts center in this rural setting, and to draw both professional artists and audiences by the level of art created here.
They first theater was a converted tin warehouse into a rustic 99-seats in East Sonora. Over 30 years later, their shoestring venture has blossomed into a professional arts organization impressive for a rural area.
Sierra Rep was selected as the resident theater company at the Historic Fallon House in June of 1997, and the company’s first production on the Historic Fallon House stage was Something’s Afoot, which opened in October of that year.
Sierra Rep now presents Main Stage shows, Cabarets and student workshop productions in two locations – the original East Sonora Theatre and the Historic Fallon House Theatre in Columbia State Historic Park. They offer free professional touring productions to schools in our county, a thriving education program, and hold benefit previews and special events that raise thousands of dollars for community and educational groups.