About
Garland Summer Musicals
Since 1983, the Garland Summer Musicals has provided both entertainment and educational opportunities to North Texas with annual summer musical productions. GSM encourages professional artists (through Guest Artist contracts with Actor’s Equity) to work with aspiring performers of all ages, creating a diverse theatre training and semi-professional production company. GSM produces two major musical classics each summer at the Granville Arts Center in downtown Garland, Texas, bringing Broadway Blockbuster entertainment to over 6,500 patrons each season.
The outstanding quality of the professional staff of the GSM is well known throughout the Metroplex area. Through the high standards set by the outstanding production team, the GSM continually strives to reach new heights in artistic and professional achievements. Garland Summer Musicals is one of only a few organizations producing musicals of this caliber in a major season in Dallas County. What better proof of these accomplishments of the GSM than through the generous financial support from the community and the incredible attendance at all GSM performances.
This unusual combination of professional and educational theatre makes the GSM a unique program not only to Garland but also throughout the Southwest. The pride of tradition and the critical success of the Garland Summer Musicals has increased dramatically over the years and today the GSM is considered a major theatrical event in the Metroplex by local agents, actors and audiences.
Our Mission
Garland Summer Musicals offers a professional musical theatre experience and provides an educational environment for performers and theatre technicians of all ages.
Our History
In 1982, the Performing Arts Center Guild was formed in order to provide volunteer support for the City of Garland’s newly constructed Performing Arts Center. The PAC Guild volunteers tirelessly supported various arts groups with thousands of volunteer hours, selling concessions and promoting all the arts organizations by publishing the “Arts in Action” Newsletter and TV show. One of the major goals of the PAC Guild was to bring professional musicals to Garland. Therefore, in 1983 the PAC Guild created the Garland Summer Musicals. From the inception, GSM’s mission was to provide a training ground for aspiring performers with the focus on maintaining a professional and educational environment that taught area youth all areas of theatre production. The Garland Summer Musicals quickly became a major theatrical event for the Dallas area. By 1992 the PAC Guild had become a Committee of the Garland Summer Musicals and changed their name to the GSM Guild. The Guild is still a major support arm of the Garland Summer Musicals hosting opening night parties, cast parties and various social functions and fundraisers throughout the year. Since 1983, GSM has created major summer musical productions which encourage professional artists (through Guest Artist contracts with Actor’s Equity) to work with aspiring performers of all ages as part of a theatre training and semi-professional production company. To date over 2000 actors, dancers, musicians, technicians and students have participated in the musical performance and intern programs offered by the Garland Summer Musicals. In 1998, GSM began an educational partnership with Tarleton State University. Tarleton State sends theatre interns throughout the U.S. to work with professional theatre companies during the summer before their senior year.