"We are born astride a grave - WaynesWorldStage.com

Francisco, are all remembered as makingimportant contributions to American theatre, butWorld Stage is only remembered by a few agingDetroiters who sit around reminiscing about thegood old days.One of the main criteria for grantconsideration was the "quality" of the Board ofDirectors. The board of directors of World Stagedid not consist of society leaders who found itfashionable to be associated with the arts andhave their names on a letterhead. World Stagewas originally run and operated by the artiststhemselves. As time passed, and actors moved toNew York and Hollywood, one man became moreand more responsible for the day-to-dayoperation of the theatre: Fred Barnett.The original World Stage was located in aloft on the second floor of a rundown building onWoodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan.Highland Park was then an independent citylocated in the heart of Detroit. The theatreconsisted of director chairs set on platformsarranged around an open space in the center thatwas the stage. It seated 200. One of the fun WorldStage stories, from before I was associated withit, centers around the stairwell that was located inthe rear of the theatre and led to an alley behindthe building. The actor involved was CliffordPellow, an actor who later became well known as40