Grey Area Productions

Grey Area Productions is ecstatic to return to the Pump House for our first full-length season. As a company, it is our mission to bring our audiences stories that ignite emotion, challenge conception, and inspire growth. We know you value enriching artistic experiences. To that end, we are committed to not only entertain, but to engage you with compelling stories and complex characters.
- We want to create something that is inclusive and works across different mediums
- We want to enrich our community by providing compensation to our talent
- We want to provide accessible theatre for all

Our Season
Oct. 27*, 28 & 29 – 7:30 PM
Nov. 3, 4 & 5 – 7:30 PM
Oct. 30 & Nov. 6 – 2:00 PM
The selections for our 2022-2023 season push us to make connections on a deeper level. We begin with Mitzi’s Abortion: A Saint’s Guide to Late-Term Politics and Medicine in America. It calls us to open our hearts and our minds for a conversation that goes beyond a two-sided narrative. It shifts our focus instead to the people impacted by impossible situations and their need for compassion.
Dec. 1*, 2 & 3 – 7:30 PM
Dec. 8, 9 & 10 – 7:30 PM
Dec. 4 & 11- 2:00 PM
Next, we invite you to share in a family celebration with The Long Christmas Dinner. With each course, we are reminded of the special feelings shared between loved ones when we take the time to be together.
Grey Area Productions will be hosting a a holiday extravaganza each night at the Pump House. Enjoy a reception with festive drinks, complementary holiday treats, live music, traditional games and crafts in the Kader Gallery. Guests will then be escorted upstairs to the theater for carols and a performance of Thornton Wilder’s one-act play, The Long Christmas Dinner.
Mar. 23*, 24 & 25 – 7:30 PM
Mar. 30, 31, & Apr. 1 – 7:30 PM
Mar. 26 & Apr. 2 – 2:00 PM
We end our season with Becky Shaw, a story about reconnecting with ourselves. Through each character’s transformation, we recognize that regardless of our many faults and mistakes, our lives have value. It is never too late to regain your independence and your worth. This is a theatre season for the inquisitive, for the adventurous. We don’t want you to just sit back and enjoy the show – we want you to invest in the show. We want to spark a conversation that lasts beyond your car ride home.
Media Coverage of Mitzi’s Abortion
News8000’s article and video interview with Co-Director Colin Thelen →
Audience Testimonials!
“A remarkable ensemble piece that carefully and thoughtfully deals with a very difficult subject matter. The performance reminded me of the significance of the arts. The importance of telling a story, and the impact and intersection of art and life.”
“Phenominal. Real, just so good and powerful. How the issue was handled was great. The raw emotion behind the forced choice, and the accuracy of the medical and philosophical/religious concepts and language was spot on. It made me tear-up multiple times.”
What a tremendous, moving, funny, transformative performance last night. I will be processing this…well, forever.
E.184: Grey Area Produtions Theater Company
La Crosse Local Podcast chatted with Colin Thelen and Katie Bakalars of Grey Area Productions, a multimedia-focused theatre company based in La Crosse, WI. We learned the origin story of the theatre, the process when producing a show, and what’s next for this theatre group.
There was a lot of isolation going on with the pandemic…oddly kind of a silver lining…a lot of us had worked together over a decade ago in the theater world…wound up back here (on the origins of the company).
Follow Grey Area Productions on Facebook @greyareatheatreproductions
We are Grey Area Productions, and we can’t wait to connect with you.