When StageWest began in the mid-1990s, its leaders wanted to create a theater company that would exclusively present contemporary shows. Today, it is doing that and more by putting on such edgy productions as “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” whose central character is a German transsexual rock star.

“We saw a need and an opportunity,” said artistic director Ron Lambert. “In terms of theater, Des Moines was underserved for the size of the community. We had a lot of great, reputable, established programs, but not too much new stuff.”

At first Lambert and a handful of theater-buff friends consulted with existing community theaters, looking for one that might want to move in a new direction. None was quite the right fit.

“Eventually, I told a friend, ‘We need to be having shows, not meetings,'” Lambert said.

The volunteer company put on its first show, “Voices That Care: Stories and Encourages for People with AIDS/HIV and Those Who Care for Them,” in a church in 1996. StageWest founding member Laurince D. McElroy adapted the play from a book. The group moved to the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines’ Stoner Studio Theater in February 1997 with the U.S. premiere of “Out of Spite: Tales of Survival in Sarajevo.”

The first shows were artistic successes, though financially the money was tight. Lambert said he and his cohorts soon realized that they would have to put on a whole season of shows if their troupe was to survive. They needed to select shows that were both artistically viable and would earn a profit. Even now, all the plays are staged by volunteer actors. A small stipend is paid to the directors and designers.

This is StageWest’s sixth season. On Feb. 27, the curtain will rise on its production of Rebecca Gilman’s “Boy Gets Girl” at the Stoner Theater. It’s the disturbing tale of a New York woman who goes on a blind date, only to have her date become her stalker.

In recent years, StageWest has been developing its own distinct brand of theater by producing shows like “Hedwig,” “Stop Kiss” (the story of two women who fall in love), “Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage” (billed as “a ‘B’ Western Horror Flick for the Stage”) and “Bat Boy: The Musical” (the story of a half-man, half-bat).

Lambert says people see StageWest’s style as distinct, and are constantly telling him, “You have to do this show. It is such a such a StageWest play.”

Before bringing “Hedwig” to Des Moines, Lambert went to see it in Minneapolis. Some members of the troupe that was performing it were surprised a Des Moines theater company wanted to stage the show.

“They said, ‘You’re really thinking about doing “Hedwig”? And I said, ‘No, we’re not thinking about it. We’re doing it.'”

He said people underestimate the adventurousness of Central Iowa audiences. The group’s new Script Tease series is allowing StageWest to put on edgier fare. The last Tuesday of each month, it puts on a rehearsed script reading at Kinkajou Coffee in the new Metro Market at Woodland Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Sherman Hill.

Popular productions are sometimes held over, as in the case of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” which will be presented at 7 p.m. Feb 17-20, 25 and 26 at Kinkajou. For more information on StageWest, visit www.stagewestiowa.com.

“We try to find the best in contemporary storytelling,” Lambert said.