Driving through downtown Fitchburg during a recent morning visit, one can't help but notice the shuttered stores, the For Rent signs, and the empty sidewalks. Tucked in among Fitchburg institutions like Shacks for Women and Common Ground, Cornerstone Performing Arts Center, home of Cornerstone Youth Theatre, sits like any other downtown storefront. Housed in an old photography studio, Cornerstone has ample--and affordable--space for theater, dance and music classes, studios, storage, and administrative offices.

"I grew up in a town in Tennessee not all that different from Fitchburg," says Lia Wright, Cornerstone's Theatre Education Director. "There wasn't a whole lot to do there and the life of the town revolved around athletics, especially football."

There are many challenges in getting children and families involved in theatre in a community like Fitchburg. In addition to dealing with a difficult economy, Lia finds herself not only trying to sell people on Cornerstone, but on the importance and need for theatre itself.

"Fitchburg's a beautiful town, but theatre isn't the first thing people think of here," she explains. "There is that group of kids who aren't athletes and there's not much for them to do. They don't have anywhere else to go. They need to channel that creative energy somewhere."

Not only do Lia's acting students feel like they have a home; they also feel like they have a future. Cornerstone's Youth Actors Company has auditions in May. Held like professional auditions, students who are 14 to 18 years old have to bring headshots and resumes and prepare two-minute monologues. Those who make it into the program spend the year studying acting methods like Viewpoints, Meisner and Mamet.

Many of the acting students are on scholarship and help pay for their classes through a work-study type program. Typically, students work 3-4 hours a week helping out with props or costumes, or in the box office. Lia observed that some kids are at the theater every chance they get, helping create a community that didn't exist prior to Cornerstone.

"I really wanted to give the kids a place where they can find more," Lia notes. "There's a place for kids to explore becoming professional actors, and for trying to figure out what it really takes. My hope is through Cornerstone those kids will have a home."