Subscription packages are now on sale and may be purchased by visiting arenastage.org/subscribe or by calling the Arena Stage Sales Office at 202-488-3300. WASHINGTON, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie today announced the company's 73rd season, which is also Smith's 25th as Artistic Director. My grandfather, an Orthodox Jew, slept on a feather bed on the stove in a dilapidated house next to a dump in a suburb of Boston, ate large white turnips, thinly sliced and sprinkled with salt, and by the kitchen window read learnedly from the holy scriptures and so was exempted from labor. -- Molly Smith, The season continues with a presentation of. It was a 514-seat fan-shaped auditorium, named in honor of Washington philanthropist David Lloyd Kreeger, who donated $250,000 to build it. I had to value my own opinion, trust my instincts, and to overcome the fear of being silly and making mistakes. Catch Me If You Can, book by Terrence McNally, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, directed by Molly Smith. [23][24] Including works by Jacqueline Lawton, Eve Ensler, Rajiv Joseph, Mary Kathryn Nagle, Sarah Ruhl, Lawrence Wright, Eduardo Machado, Aaron Posner, John Strand, Craig Lucas, Kenneth Lin, and Nathan Alan Davis. This was not the only change. May 5 June 25, 2023. The Meads philanthropic gesture is the largest donation made to an American regional theater and at the time ranked in top 10 largest donations to a nonprofit arts organization in the United States. [27][31], A major renovation of the facility was undertaken from 2008 through 2010. [22][5], In the latter half of the 20th century, the company traveled abroad. [26][27] The company also produced three films: May 22, 2020, a docudrama that follows D.C.-Maryland-Virginia residents and captures a day in their lives during the pandemic;[28] Inside Voices, which features the stories of kids during the pandemic;[29] and The 51st State, about D.C. The company presented Thornton Wilders Our Town, directed by Alan Schneider, as well as Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lees Inherit the Wind, directed by Zelda Fichandler. Some of the plays from the 2020 season were postponed due to the pandemic. Toni Stone, by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Pam MacKinnon. January 21 March 6, 2022. In 1981, with the Washington Ear, Arena Stage developed Audio Description, which made it the first theater to create audio-described performances for visually impaired members of the audience. The Waldstadion has gone through many changes in the past and has now, at the start of the new millennium, been completely . By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. Subscriptions are now available for purchase at arenastage.org/subscribe. Central to Zelda Fichandlers mission and the relationship of Arena Stage with the community was the low ticket price, and its nonprofit status allowed Arena Stage to receive federal, foundation, and corporate funding. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, Guide to the Washington Convention Center, Find the Right Space for Your Intimate Meeting, 901 7th Street NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001-3719, 2023 Washington.org. April 3 May 3, 2020. Censorship was looming very large, as was a diminution in funding.Fichandler, personal narrative. Filled with an electrifying new score, this world premiere celebrates the revolutionary legacy of one of history's first freedom fighters, whose fire is needed now more than ever. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater | LinkedIn Since its early days, Arena Stage has played a pioneering role in providing access for people with disabilities to its productions. [16][17][18] Its production The Great White Hope, which opened at Arena Stage in 1967, went on to Broadway with its original cast, including James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in the lead roles. Designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese, the expansion had 800 seats and was completed in 1961 as the first theater-in-the-round prepared for the existing resident acting company. Timeline and ConstructionArchitect's Statementmultimedia Tour, "Our center will be a home for American Voices in the nations capital a showcase of the broad range of work from the countrys leading and emerging artists; a birthplace for new American work; and a space to engage audiences in the history, breadth and legacy of the American theater. In 1980, Arena Stage was the first American theater company invited to attend the international Hong Kong Arts Festival, where they presented Arthur Millers After the Fall, directed by Zelda Fichandler, and George S. Kaufman and Moss Harts You Cant Take it with You, directed by Douglas C. Wager. Designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese, who also designed Washington's Metro, the 680-seat arena-style Fichandler needed a lot of love, including better acoustics and sound insulation. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater There are approximately 370 panes, amounting to 35,000 square feet of glass that creates the curtain wall surrounding the building. After the success of The Great White Hope, Arena Stage received a grant of $250,000 from the Ford Foundation to integrate actors of color into the company. rts organizations are often the catalyst for major improvements in different communities. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater 1101 6th St SW, Washington, DC 20024 Get Directions Part of Concerts from the Library of Congress Register Now Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov. . Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. My parents emigrated as infants from Russia. Images by Nic Lehoux. 1101 6th St, SW Washington, DC 20024 United States "Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. The American Voices New Play Institute (2009) received a $1.1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, providing resident playwrights resources to write and develop new plays. A new theater, subsurface administration, parking and support spaces, rehearsal halls and a free span roof with bars and a cafe enclosed by a one of a kind wood/glass cable supported curtain-wall system. Plan Your Visit - Arena Stage [1][3] Its first home was the Hippodrome Theatre,[8][2] a former movie house. Groups of 10 or more save up to 50%. Baskerville plays through February 22, 2015 at Arena Stage at The Mead Center for American Theater - 1101 6th Street SW, in Washington, DC. 2 (1983): 9091. This cultural diversity was appreciated by the cosmopolitan audience of Washington, DC. The Washingtonian magazine, as part of its 50th anniversary commemoration, identified the Arena Stage's 1967 production of The Great White Hope as one of "50 Moments That Shaped Washington, DC". Download the guide to Arena Stage (PDF). February 28 April 12, 2020. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater "Arena Stage has been my artistic home for over 20 years," said Randolph-Wright, when he accepted the American Artist Award from Arena Stage earlier this year. [21] In 1987, Arena hosted a symposium on nontraditional casting. I think I can do anything in there and it invites a more expressionistic, a more poetic discovery of the play,Fichandler, personal narrative. The collaboration with Romanian Liviu Ciulei marked a moment of rich emulation and dynamic exchange of creativity and methodology on both sides. With a career ready to take off, architecture critic Philip Kennicott views other structures that Arena Stage creator Bing Thom has designed. Completed in 2010 in Washington, United States. Despite her aptitude for science at the time, Zelda Fichandlers ambition and vocation for theater would not come as a surprise. Epic, four-sided auditorium, steeply raked seating tiers and bold, earthy exterior design, Ideally suited to large-scale classic dramas and musicals, State-of-the-art technical equipment and elegant new dcor, Acoustical improvements eliminate ambient noise, Audience members are never more than eight rows away from the action, State-of-the-art technology and amenities including new furnishings in deep blue colors, Qualities that make it one of the most artist- and audience-friendly spaces in the country: extraordinary flexibility, excellent acoustics and flawless sightlines, Remarkably intimate interaction between actor and audience, Technically sophisticated venue will enable Arena to continue building the canon of American work and cultivating the next generation of writers, Beautiful and acoustically sound, wooden basket-weaved walls in lush eggplant colors. Margo Joness theatre was a great influence on Zelda Fichandler. Photo by Margot Schulman. At first, she started working as a translator from Russian into English. See details in your cart. And now Arena has what it needs: Two huge new halls that will give the company extraordinary flexibility. We are pleased to offer theater goers a choice of drinks and snacks before the show and during intermission. Note: Here are some Arena stage ticket discount programs that might be of interest for any number of different ways to find . Inclusiveness. Three years later, she wrote an essay for the Washington Star in which she stated that her desire to do theater was not triggered by fame or wealth, but rather by diversity: I wanted to be different people. It wasnt really to be famous or rich, I said, but it was to show people what other people could be like. Her perspective on diversity became, a few years later, part of her mission. The Mead Center for American Theater | Reception Venues Molly Smith noted in an interview with. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and groundbreaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Virtual streaming in Nationals Park on September 26, 2021. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater [25][23], During the coronavirus pandemic, Arena Stage launched the Artists Marketplace as a way for people to commission or purchase work from the artists who have worked with the company. [35] During the renovation, Arena Stage temporarily moved to the Crystal Forum and the Lincoln Theatre. A rock garden adds a Zen-like touch, but solves an important problem: limiting weight on top of the historic structure. The new building, designed by Bing Thom Architects, one of Canadas most renowned architectural firms, re-imagines this legendary theater and creates a cultural destination in Southwest Washington. Arena Stage at The Mead Center for American Theater Announces 2022/23 Our focus is on American artists. Rather than abandon its existing, landmark theater spaces, including the Fichandler Stage, Arena preserved them, incorporating them into the new building. [22] In 1989, the company received a $1 million grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to train minority actors, directors, designers and administrators, and to produce plays from non-white cultures. HolidayBy Philip BarryDirected by Anita Maynard-LoshIn the Fichandler Stage | October 7 November 6, 2022An up-and-coming Wall Street lawyer from a working-class family aspires to quit and enjoy life once he's made enough money, a prospect that doesn't thrill his well-born fiance but excites her more unconventional sister. , . Each wood column that supports the building bears 400,000 pounds of load on average. 3. It is one the best designed buildings in D.C. in the last decade., Virtual tour by Andrew McGibbon Photography, 1101 Sixth Street SWWashington, D.C. 20024, The building of the Mead Center was a catalyst for other development in the Southwest neighborhood. [5] In 1991, Arena raised $4 million for a cultural diversity grant. In 1991, before Zelda left her position as producing director at Arena Stage to become artistic director of the Acting Company in New York City and chair of the graduate acting program at New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts, her company raised about $4 million for a cultural diversity grant, which later became the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship Program, still ongoing in 2019. 1101 6th St. SW, Washington, D.C. | 202-554-9066. "[15], In 1960, the company moved into its current complex on Sixth Street, which was designed for them by Chicago architect Harry Weese. Mother Road, by Octavio Solis, directed by Bill Rauch. This page is not available in other languages. After a decade of planning, design and construction, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater reopened on October 25, 2010. [2][19] This made Arena the first regional theater to transfer a production to Broadway. For tickets, call the box office at (202) 488-3300, or purchase them online. Under the leadership of. |. United States. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater features a centralized lobby with 3 state-of-the-art performance venues; on-site cafe; and easily accessible seating and parking. Zelda included in the theaters repertoire plays from the Soviet Union, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Austria, East and West Germany, France, Switzerland, England, Canada, and Australia. Washington, D.C.'s latest architectural shot in the arm, the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, is a radical transformation by Bing Thom, AIA, of one of the city's most venerable cultural institutions. Her father, an engineer and inventor, worked for the National Bureau of Standards and developed proximity fuzes during the Second World War. The main reason behind the relocation was the financial struggle; in Zelda Fichandlers vision, Arena Stage had to be a nonprofit, a status it officially acquired in 1959. Fraport Arena. Zelda Fichandler said, I prefer the Arena. [5][6] It is located at a theater complex called the Mead Center for American Theater. With a special focus on community engagement and innovation in the arts, Arena Stage, founded on August 16, 1950, by Zelda Fichandler, Tom Fichandler and Edward Mangum, has shaped the cultural landscape of the American capital and has become a leader in diversity and artistic excellence. The front door, and the entrance to the small parking. Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater promises to provide a safe, respectful, inclusive, and fun environment for everyone to enjoy live theater and events. Arena . , , , , , , Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy, Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American, ARENA STAGE NAMES HANA SHARIF AS ITS NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, "ELECTRIFYING, MUSIC-FILLED, AND DEEPLY PLEASUREABLE!" Washington, DC 20024 However, during what she recalls as her science period, she had a laboratory accident: the hydrochloric acid did minor damage physically, but it alarmed her family.Fichandler, personal narrative. Thirty years later, Arena Stage was one of seven theaters promoting the Womens Voices Theater Festival, but if we think of Zelda Fichandlers leadership in theater in an industry dominated by men, the activity of Arena Stage is even more impressive, as it overcame numerous obstacles. Change Agent, written and directed by Craig Lucas. Events | Arena Stage Her parents, Harry Diamond and Ida Epstein, emigrated as infants from Russia to the United States. Philip Kennicott takes a look at Arena Stage's newly renovated space near the waterfront in Washington's Southwest neighborhood. Text description provided by the architects. On this conversion, Finchandler remarked, The art of the theater was never meant to exist for the purpose of making a profitin the economic sense, of course; its profit is of another kind. November 1 December 22, 2020. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground . From an abandoned movie theater to a pioneer of the Regional Theater Movement, Tony Awards, international tours, three main stages, all departments under one unifying roof, Arena Stage has become one of the largest performing arts centers in Washington, DC. [4] In 1956, the company moved into the gymnasium of the old Heurich Brewery in Foggy Bottom; the theater was nicknamed "The Old Vat. The Mead Center is 200,000 square feet in size, making it the largest performing arts center to open in D.C. since the Kennedy Center, which opened in 1971. Ride the Cyclone, by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, directed by Sarah Rasmussen. Disney's Newsies, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, book by Harvey Fierstein, directed by Molly Smith.
