Our History
Dezart Performs was founded in 2008 by Michael Shaw and Daniela Ryan at the Dezart One Gallery in the Backstreet Art District. Play readings of new works were performed in the main gallery with the actors and audience surrounded by art. Audience members were encouraged to vote on their favorite play, and that play was then produced the following season with a limited set, a few props and minimal lighting.
In 2011, the gallery closed, and Dezart Performs moved to the Pearl McManus Theatre at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club, where we are today.
One of the founding principles of Dezart Performs is to produce innovative, contemporary plays that audiences in the Coachella Valley would not see unless visiting a larger city like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or San Diego. Over the 15 years since it was founded, Dezart Performs has seen a steady growth in attendance, demonstrating that the Valley welcomes the kind of bold, thought-provoking work that it presents.
As an Equity-sanctioned professional theatre, Dezart Performs draws on the rich talent pool both locally and from the surrounding southern California region, making it unique in its ability to cast gifted amateurs alongside experienced professionals. Now entering its 16th season, with an expanded schedule of four main productions, the company brings a consistent level of quality theatre to the desert, which its audiences have come to expect.
Our Mission
Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting‐edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.