Join the Cast of a Broadway Musical

Professionally Led Community Theater for Adults in San Francisco.

No experience required. Everyone who registers gets cast.

Join the Cast Waitlist

We’d love to have you.

“Being part of the Damato Performance school was truly a dream come true.

Having the opportunity… gave me the chance to reconnect with my passion for musical theatre — something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to feel again while juggling a full time job.”

- Georgia | Mainstage Musical 2026

About DAMATO Mainstage

DAMATO Mainstage produces professionally led community musicals that bring San Francisco adults together onstage, backstage, and in the audience.

Each production combines the leadership of local theater professionals with the creativity and commitment of a community cast and production team.

This enables us to put on an incredibly high quality show and facilitate an educational experience for our actors and community of volunteers.

We believe that performing in a high quality, community-driven musical is one of the most joyful and magical human experiences there is, and our mission is to welcome as many people into that process as we can.

Program Details

Program Snapshot

1. Registration: First come, first served. Everyone who signs up gets in. 😊

2. Kick-Off Party: Friday December 4th @7:00pm. Games, Names, Introductions- come meet everyone else in the cast and crew! 🥂

3. Auditions: Sunday, December 6th & Sunday, December 13th Our auditions are low-stress and our creative team is very friendly (and rooting for you!) Don’t worry- you’re definitely in the show- these just decide your role. 😊

4. Rehearsals: Mondays & Thursdays 6:30 - 9:00pm + Monthly Sundays 2:30 - 6:30 at DAMATO Studio in Noe Valley, SF. This doesn’t mean you’ll have rehearsal all of these times, unless you are the main lead(s). However, the full cast must keep these times available until each weekly schedule is confirmed

5. Performances: June 2027 Dates & Location TBD. Announcement by October.

Meet the Team

Brennan Pickman-Thoon

DIRECTOR
Brennan is a director, actor, writer, teaching artist, and proud Bay Area native. He graduated with honors from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a BFA in Drama and trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.
As a teaching artist, Brennan is a faculty member with A.C.T. and a private acting coach, with a background in teaching everything from Shakespeare to Improvisation to On-Camera Acting to Devised Theater. SFBATCC Winner: Actor In A Leading Role. Member, AEA.

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Kathryn Aarons

CHOREOGRAPHER
Kathryn is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist from the Bay Area she earned her BA in Musical Theatre from California State University, Chico and moved to NYC after college and continued studying dance at Steps & BDC.
Kathryn is an Equity actress and has performed in numerous regional productions across the country, and has been lucky enough to serve as Dance Captain on a handful of them.

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McKenna Troy

FOUNDER, PRODUCER & MUSIC DIRECTOR
McKenna is a full-time vocal coach with a national client base, trained in Vocal Performance at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and experienced performing in Europe and the U.S. She specializes in evidence-based vocal technique for adult singers and is known for her engaging teaching style.
When not vocal coaching or music directing, McKenna serves as the founder and artistic director of DAMATO Performance School.

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“Brennan, McKenna, Kathryn, Jessica, and every single person I had the pleasure of learning from and working with, created a space filled with support, dedication, and SO much heart.
I learned so much, grew as a performer, and gained memories and a community I will never forget.”

- Georgia | Mainstage Musical 2026

What Being Cast in the Musical Includes

• A fully mounted musical production

Costumes, staging, lights, props, microphones, and a creative team for the full rehearsal process.

• Professional direction & coaching

A director, choreographer, and music director who have professional performance and education experience

• Regular rehearsals (1-3x a week)

Focused sessions that build your skills through fully staging, singing, and choreographing a show.

• 2-3 Performances in a professional theater

We go all out on producing our shows. You will get the experience of being a real professional.

• Opportunity to be cast for all lead roles

If you want more stage time, we’ll be looking forward to your audition.

• A welcoming, supportive community & culture

You’ll never be expected to “already know.” We teach everything.

No. Many performers in this program are returning after years away or are building skills for the first time. Everything is taught step by step, and there are plenty of ensemble roles available for building your theater skills.
However, if you are looking for a more educational / lesson based musical theater experience, we would recommend enrolling in our Broadway Lab program instead of the Mainstage Musical.
Ohh yes. This cast is made up of adult performers who love musical theater and are varying levels of ‘theater kid’ at heart- aka most of us are a little quirky in our own ways and extremely accepting of everyone in the community.
Our Mainstage Musical program has built in socials and activities for welcoming in new members- and we make it our personal priority that everyone feel as safe, comfortable, and valued in this community as much as possible.
DAMATO Culture is absolutely not cutthroat and competitive by design. Because everybody is registering and committing to the show before casting, we know that everyone in our cast is here primarily for the community and to make awesome theater together- not to be a diva.
It’s totally normal (and okay) to be nervous. However, you will have a chance to meet everyone in the cast and crew at our kickoff party- so by placement auditions you’ll already know a lot of friendly faces in the waiting room. Our auditions are also very low stress- everyone on the creative team is rooting for you. We just want to see everyone perform so we can place you in the show where you’ll shine the most.
If you’re out of practice- you’ll get back into a practice rhythm quickly with the pace of this show. This show will require at home practice- but we will walk everyone through effective practice methods and have a lot of helpful tools to make practicing easy and accessible for all levels!
Totally fine. There are plenty of dancing and very-little-to-no dancing roles in the show.
Choreography is built around the skill level of our cast for a wide range of comfort levels. Plenty of our cast members have never danced before or consider themselves non dancers. Plenty more of our cast are serious dancers who are put in roles where they can flex their talents.
Clear direction, roles with different levels of dancing, and lots of practice / repetition mean you’ll always know what to do onstage.
You’re welcome here. Everything—from music to staging to character work—is taught clearly and intentionally, with coaching designed for adult learners. If you’d like a more educational experience (with lessons built in) we’d recommend taking our other musical theater program, Broadway Performance Lab, first.
We encourage adults of all ages to join- 18 - 118! Everyone is here because they genuinely love musical theater and want to connect with eachother. We love our intergenerational community.
We strongly recommend as little absences as possible- ideally none. You will receive a conflict sheet before auditions to clarify your availability in advance. It is important that you are as available as possible. This will be strongly considered in casting. If multiple absences were not recorded and come up after casting, it will be noted and considered in future opportunities with the DAMATO Mainstage.
If you do have an absence (unforseen illness, occasional necessary absence) we record all blocking and choreography and upload it to a shared Google Drive you can review and practice anytime.
Placement auditions take place after you enroll. Upon registration and payment, you will receive a link in your email to schedule your vocal placement audition.
A full cast dance placement audition and callbacks for principal roles will be on Sunday December 13th. Details will be included in your registration confirmation.
You will receive short audition cuts from the show with tracks to prepare for vocal auditions as well as a description of what we’re looking for.
The process is very supportive, low-stress, and adult-friendly. There are no refunds based on casting.

FAQs

Have any other questions? Wondering if the program is a good fit for you? We’re happy to chat: office@damatoperformanceschool.com

How Participation and Production Funding Work

Each actor pays a monthly participation fee that helps cover the costs of rehearsing and producing the show, including our professional creative team, rehearsal space, licensing and insurance, theater rental, rehearsal and performance tracks, microphones and sound equipment, lighting, main costume pieces and props, and professional technical production.

Participation fees cover only a portion of Mainstage’s total cost. The remaining expenses are funded through ticket sales and community donations. We are pursuing fiscal sponsorship so future donations—including major gifts and corporate contributions—can be tax-deductible through our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Additional support would allow us to expand need-based fee assistance, compensate our artists at levels that better reflect Bay Area living costs, and continue investing in the quality of the production.

Before registration opens, we will publish the 2027 monthly fee, payment schedule, a breakdown of our anticipated production costs this year, and information about applying for fee assistance.