Stages Right

The Alys Stephens Center hosts more than 300 events each year, attracting more than 275,000 people from all 50 states.

When the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center (ASC) opened at UAB in 1996, it literally set the stage for an expansion of arts and culture in Birmingham. The ASC’s four versatile, midsized venues offered impeccable acoustics and a sumptuous atmosphere, attracting artists who might otherwise have skipped the state.

Local talent also fills the house on a regular basis. The ASC is home to the School of Arts and Humanities’ music and theatre departments and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and it has hosted events for the Alabama Ballet and Birmingham’s Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, among others.

The ASC also is developing the next generation of culture lovers. Its Arts in Action education program gives area schoolchildren the opportunity to watch artists perform and meet them face to face. To date, Arts in Action has offered free or low-cost programs for more than 50,000 children and adults—even paying for their transportation.