They were a motley crew of young actors back in the early days, performing as Alias Stage out of a third-floor loft in Olneyville.

I remember one of their early play’s which consisted of a guy in a steel barrel waxing poetically. I’m not sure what it was all about.

Many of the actors had been trained at the Trinity Conservatory and had paid their dues playing supporting characters at Trinity Rep.

A young man from Edgewood by the name of Tony Estrella had big dreams about the little theatre group.

Sam Babbitt was one of his mentors, playing many of the older roles, while Jeanine Kane was his Juliet, Brick’s Maggie in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and Estrella’s Lady Macbeth. Jim O’Brien always seemed to be cast in a juicy role.

Estrella stepped out of his director roles to play leads in classics like “Uncle Vanya,” “The Night of the Iguana,” and recently Roy Cohn in “Angels in America.”

They outgrew Olneyville and moved to a former garage next to the Providence dog pound where you could hear the dogs barking during the performances.

The theatre grew in size and stature, moving again to the Pawtucket Armory, where they took on more challenging plays.

A few years ago, they bought a building on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, made incredible renovations and grew to become a shining star on Rhode Island’s theatre scene, gaining national recognition for their professionalism and giving Trinity a run for its money and audiences.

Estrella borrowed–or stole–some of Trinity’s great talents like Fred Sullivan Jr. who directed plays back 25 years ago, and Brian McEleny who directed the classic “Angels in America” this year.