Chase Kniffen rubs his hand across the rough edges of the platform that will be filled with chairs when Stage 1 Theatre Company opens its inaugural season in November. The newly constructed 99-seat black box theatre in Hanover sits inside the Shuffles Dance Center.

"We’ve still got some work to do," explained Kniffen, the theatre’s founder and artistic director. "It’s a matter of cleaning it up." The space was perfect for Kniffen’s new venture.

"It spoke to me," he said. "It was designed to be a performance space one day. I knew it could be a cool black box theatre."

Kniffen came up with the idea to start his own theatre in 2007 when he realized that a lot of shows he enjoyed watching in other cities were "falling through the cracks" in Richmond.

"Those are the shows that I have the most interest in," he said. "I thought that having a venue that would produce those types of shows would be a good thing."

Stage 1 will specialize in American musicals written in the last 15 years. All four of the musicals in the theatre’s current lineup are Richmond premieres. Its first production, "tick, tick … Boom!" is written by Jonathan Larson who also wrote "Rent." The season will also include "Normal," a musical of hope and survival.

"That play hasn’t been done since it was playing off-Broadway and it won’t be done for the next five years," Kniffen said.  "We are the only company that was chosen to produce it."                    

Prior to branching out on his own, the 23-year-old served as special projects manager for Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV. Kniffen became interested in theater around the age of 10 when he and his friends would stage musical productions in his grandparents’ garage. 

"One was ‘Wizard of Oz’," he recalled. "I feel like I have always been running some sort of theatre."

Kniffen’s first major acting gig was one that any young actor would covet -- the role of John Darling in the Tony-nominated production of "Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan" on Broadway.

While on hiatus from the touring production, Kniffen recreated his role for his family in his garage production of "Peter Pan."

"That was scary," he recalled, laughing. "For the flying part I rigged up the old boating pulleys in the rafter of the garage and made a harness out of a rope."

During his career, Kniffen has served as both actor and director. In New York, he was assistant director for the off-Broadway production of "The Audience," which went on to receive Drama Desk nominations for Best New Musical and Best Direction.

Before returning to Richmond in 2004, he spent one year training at New York’s well-known Circle in the Square Theatre School.

As artistic director, Kniffen will be tapping into the talent base in Richmond, hoping to include many of Richmond’s young, rising stars in his productions. He recently accomplished a coup by snagging in-demand young actors Audra Honaker, Brett Ambler and Durron M. Tyre in "tick, tick…Boom!"

"To get them to be part of that first show is amazing," Kniffen said. "My goal is to keep the young artists here in Richmond for a few more years so they can do a few more shows."

Like any new theatre, Stage 1 has its eye on raising funds. On Oct 7, it will present "Ragtime: The Musical in Concert" in a special one-night-only fundraising gala at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.

The event will star Jerold E. Solomon, currently appearing on Broadway in the Tony-Winning "South Pacific" as Coalhouse Walker Jr. Richmond actors and entertainers involved include Desiree Roots Centeio, Debra Wagoner, Robyn O’Neill and Jan Guarino.

"We will be doing the entire script," Kniffen explained. "We’ll have a Meet-the-Stars Dessert & Champagne Gala reception following the show."

Kniffen hopes to ride the current tide of theatrical enthusiasm in the Richmond area. "Richmond is on a real artistic boom," he explained. "The theatre-going community likes to see different types of theater so the more quality theater you have the better it is."

For more information on the "Ragtime: The Musical in Concert" benefit performance, call (804) 427-7548 or visit www.stage1va.org where you will find listings for the entire inaugural season.