Meet Chad Swan-Badgero of Peppermint Creek Theatre Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Swan-Badgero.

Hi Chad, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I caught the acting bug when I was in fifth grade when I was cast as Charlie Brown in “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown”. I took part in theater all through school, and the summer I graduated high school, I wanted to be part of a production, but nothing was going on in Lansing at the time. So I naively decided to direct my own show. My high school choir/drama teacher, Helen Hansens, held my hand through finding a play and applying for the rights, and that’s how my theater company, Peppermint Creek Theatre Co, was founded in 1995! Since then we’ve produced over 120 mainstage shows and have just moved in to what we hope will be our long-term theatre home at Stage One Performing Arts Center in Lansing. As the Artistic Director, I am most proud of how we have remained so true to our mission at Peppermint Creek, which is to address current issues in society and create dialogue.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a road that has led to a lot of adventures, let’s say that! For the bulk of our history as a company we were itinerant, which meant we were performing in may spaces that were not a traditional theater. Over the years we performed in greenhouses, churches, tree farms, community centers, basements, abandoned buildings, and my parent’s back deck. In most cases, these were venues that we had to transform into a space that was conducive for theater. A great deal of my energy was always dedicated to simply building the actual stage and finding seating for enough people to come watch the show. THEN we could actually build a set and find lights to make sure the actors were visible. We’ve been very scrappy. It also meant that we were constantly asking patrons to find us in new and unusual locations we AND THEY had never been to. So marketing and messaging was where a lot of our focus was in our early years. We got really good at weighing the pros and cons of a new venue before we moved from a location. But I will say that the tenacious attitude we had to adopt when moving all over town made us really focus hard on the story we were trying to tell and doing that in as professional a way as possible, and that gained us a strong reputation for good storytelling and creating a dynamic theater experience.

As you know, we’re big fans of Peppermint Creek Theatre Company. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m the founder and Artistic Director for the company, and we’ve been operating for 30 years. I tremendously proud of the way we’ve stayed true to our mission statement and the bravery it takes to address so many topics that can often be divisive or contentious, and that we’ve done that in a way that welcomes audiences into the dialogue and the theater. Our mission very much sets us apart from the other theater companies in the Lansing region. I also believe that our strong, professional approach to theater-making is what led to us being named “Nonprofit of the Year” in 2025 by the Greater Lansing Entrepreneur Awards.

I’d love for readers to know that our theater is open to anyone who is excited about theater that asks lots of questions and will challenge their thinking, but also that it’s open for those who want to get involved as well. We are always looking for performers, tech designers (like lights, costumes, sets, sound) and other volunteers. A nonprofit runs on people who are passionate about the mission and what to see it succeed, so we welcome anyone who wants to get involved.

What does success mean to you?
As a theater maker, I define success as creating an experience that addresses our mission, is high quality, and where the creators and the audience both had a positive experience and want to come back.

Pricing:

• $15 (general admission)
• $10 (students/seniors 65+/veterans

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peppermintcreek.org
• Instagram: peppermintcreek_thr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peppermintcreek
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@peppermintcreekth