For more than a decade before Showtime Legacy Theatre Company existed, its foundation was already being laid.

In 2012, Johnny Sizemore founded Showtime Productions with a vision to create opportunities for artists who often found themselves overlooked by traditional entertainment spaces. What began as a local production company quickly evolved into an award-winning creative force producing original stage plays, films, television series, and educational programs throughout South Carolina and beyond. As the company grew, so did its reputation for telling bold, authentic stories centered on the Black experience while developing hundreds of emerging artists.

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Along the journey, Johnny was joined by longtime creative collaborator Kerrick Montonio, whose passion for writing, storytelling, and artist development became instrumental in shaping the company's artistic identity. Together, they envisioned something greater than a production company. They dreamed of creating a permanent home where Black stories could live year after year, where artists could build lasting careers, and where theatre would become a catalyst for community transformation.

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That vision became reality in 2026 with the founding of Showtime Legacy Theatre Company, the nonprofit theatrical arm of Showtime Productions.

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The company was created with a clear purpose: to preserve Black culture through powerful storytelling, invest in the next generation of artists through education, and strengthen communities through the transformative power of live theatre. Rather than simply producing plays, Showtime Legacy Theatre was established to build an institution—one that would celebrate the richness of Black history while creating new works that speak to the present and inspire the future.

Soon after its formation, the company established its home at Showtime Studios inside the Urban League of the Upstate in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The space quickly became more than a rehearsal hall. It evolved into a creative hub where playwrights, actors, musicians, designers, directors, students, and community members could gather to create, collaborate, and grow together.

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The company's inaugural season, Inheritance & Identity, announced exactly who Showtime Legacy Theatre intended to be. Anchored by the world premiere of Johnny Sizemore's BACKBONE, alongside August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, Jocelyn Bioh's Jaja's African Hair Braiding, Home for the Holidays, and Night of Legends, the season explored family, heritage, resilience, ownership, and the stories that shape who we become.

From its earliest days, Showtime Legacy Theatre embraced a philosophy that theatre should extend beyond the stage. Through youth arts education, networking events for creatives, internships, community partnerships, artist development initiatives, and cultural programming, the organization began cultivating an ecosystem where artists could not only perform but thrive.

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Today, Showtime Legacy Theatre Company continues to grow as one of the Southeast's emerging cultural institutions. Built upon the artistic excellence of Showtime Productions and guided by a commitment to authenticity, innovation, and service, the company remains dedicated to amplifying voices that have too often gone unheard while creating transformative experiences for audiences of every generation.

What began as one man's desire to create opportunities has become a movement rooted in culture, community, and legacy.

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The story of Showtime Legacy Theatre is still being written. Every production, every student, every standing ovation, and every life changed becomes another chapter in a legacy designed to endure for generations to come.

One opportunity has the power to change your life. Our hope is that Showtime Legacy Theatre becomes the place where thousands of those opportunities begin.