For nearly two decades, Knoxville Children’s Theatre (KCT) has given young people across East Tennessee a place to discover their creativity, build confidence, and experience every aspect of live theatre. Now, the organization is preparing for an exciting new chapter: transforming its current home at The Foundry at World’s Fair Park into a vibrant, expanded youth arts center designed to serve generations of young artists.
Founded in 2008, KCT was established around a distinctive vision of theatre “of children, by children, and for children.” Young people take center stage as actors, singers, and dancers, but their involvement extends behind the scenes as well, with students learning set, lighting, and costume design, technical production, and stage management.
That mission has fueled years of steady growth. At KCT’s previous location, more than 1,000 children participated in productions and classes each year, while more than 12,000 children from across East Tennessee annually attended performances. Productions regularly sold out, academy classes maintained waiting lists, and requests for student matinees exceeded what the theatre could accommodate.
KCT began searching for a larger home in 2016, eventually relocating to The Foundry at World’s Fair Park in 2025. While temporary improvements have allowed the organization to continue its programming in the building, a comprehensive renovation is planned to expand its capabilities and better support its growing educational and performance programs.
Reimagining The Foundry
McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects (MHM) is proud to serve as architect for the planned renovation and expansion of The Foundry, transforming the historic venue into a comprehensive youth arts center that supports KCT’s growing programming and hands-on approach to theatre education.
Plans include a 250-seat auditorium and a 100-seat black box theatre, giving KCT two distinct performance spaces and greater flexibility to accommodate its schedule of more than 10 productions each year. A rehearsal hall, scene and costume shops, lighting and sound booths, five academy classrooms, lobby, administrative areas, and other support spaces will create opportunities for young people to experience nearly every aspect of bringing a production to life.
The expansion is about more than accommodating larger audiences. With rehearsals, performances, classes, and camps often overlapping, additional performance and learning spaces will allow KCT to serve more children while expanding the range of experiences available to them.
Building Momentum for The Next Stage
KCT's vision for The Foundry is supported by its Next Stage capital campaign, which is raising funds for the renovation and modernization of the historic building.
The campaign recently received a significant boost with a $2 million gift from the Boyd Foundation. The contribution represents an important milestone toward expanding opportunities for children throughout the region.
The investment builds on a mission centered on accessibility. Children do not pay to participate in KCT productions, scholarships help make academy classes available to families who need assistance, and affordable ticket prices help introduce more young audience members to live theatre.
For MHM, the project represents an opportunity to pair adaptive reuse with a mission that gives an important Knoxville gathering place renewed purpose. The Foundry’s next chapter will build upon its history as a place where people come together while enhancing the building to support learning, creativity, performance, and connection.
As Knoxville Children’s Theatre continues its Next Stage campaign, we're excited to help shape the future of its home at The Foundry, creating more opportunities for young people to discover their passion for the arts and develop skills that will stay with them for years to come.