News Desk

In time for the election, an audio play about political scheming from Studio

As millions across the country are taking to the polls, Studio Theatre releases its first audio play, an adaption of Kings, the lacerating, fast-talking political drama by Alexandria, Virginia, native...

Theater wonks and gamers connect with a new ‘Twist’

Theater professionals from New York City, Kentucky, and DC have come together to launch ​Twist, a new virtual experience centered around a rotating series of social strategy games. ​Following a...

How DMV theaters are strategizing for reopening

With the fall season and following seasons still only tentatively planned, arts organizations are taking the time to focus on a reopening strategy that makes the most sense for their staff,...

E. Faye Butler to rock the vote as Fannie Lou Hamer at Arena Stage

Two-time Helen Hayes Award winner E. Faye Butler returns to Arena Stage to take on the iconic role of civil and voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Cheryl L. West’s play Fannie Lou Hamer, Speak...

The Breath Project resists racial injustice with free virtual festival

The Breath Project—a new theatrical initiative formed in response to racial injustice against Black people—will stream as a free virtual festival October 24 and 25, 2020. In partnership with Studio...

Edge of the Universe Players 2 presents a free audio farce by Chekhov

The Edge of the Universe Players 2, a DC-based company dedicated to deep meanings in the form of theatrical high entertainment, had planned to continue exploring that territory in the 2020 Fringe...

UrbanArias’ new opera is a sexy comedy about expecting parents in lockdown

UrbanArias has partnered with eight other American opera companies to create a newly commissioned operatic video series, Tales From a Safe Distance, inspired by Boccaccio’s The Decameron. Each company...

Alden Theatre’s ‘Drive-Thru Drama’ gets spooky

Just in time for Halloween, The Alden Theatre in McLean continues its unique Drive-Thru Drama performances with Objects in Mirror May Be SPOOKIER Than They Appear, October 16 to November 1, 2020....

Dominion Stage announces winners of first playwriting contest

The trials and tribulations of a talk show host’s family. A date between two extreme opposites that gets dangerous. These are the themes of the two winning entries in Dominion Stage’s first...

Shakespeare Theatre Company plots next season with new twists

The lineup for Shakespeare Theater Company‘s 2020–2021 season—as announced by Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Executive Director Chris Jennings—is signficantly different from plans first announced...

Mosaic Theater heads into fall season recommitted to anti-racism

A monthslong period of intensive introspection and evolution at Mosaic Theater Company, led by a recommitment to anti-racism, has culminated in the company’s recent announcement of fall programming,...

Olney Theatre Center hosts ‘Just Arts,’ a virtual social justice arts festival

In response to ongoing social upheaval and protests for racial justice, Olney Theatre Center is hosting a virtual social justice arts festival amplifying the voices of BIPOC artists and activists in...

Happenstance Theater to clown outdoors and online this weekend

The irrepressibly entertaining Happenstance Theater will perform its Pinot & Augustine clown show on Saturday, October 10, 2020, at 2 pm and 6 pm, in the parking lot at Joe’s Movement Emporium (3309...

Black Artist Coalition to stream ‘I Am… A Celebration of Black Artistry’

The Black Artist Coalition (BAC) releases its second visual project, “I Am…” A Celebration of Black Artistry Thursday, October 8, 2020. One of the pillars of the Black Artist Coalition is advancing...

Free ‘Flash Acts’ theater festival to spotlight U.S. and Russian artists

The Forum for Cultural Engagement has announced Flash Acts, a free six-day, bilingual, virtual theater festival October 8 to 13, 2020. This one-of-a-kind performance festival brings together 20...

CulturalDC to host Reclamation Project racial-equity residency at Source Theatre

The Reclamation Project—an idea inspired by We See You, White American Theater, “Hot button issues for Black theater: A roundtable on revolution,” and “Gender Diverse Black Theatre Leadership...

1st Stage commissions 11 artists to create solo works

As part of its ongoing commitment to creating diverse, modern work by leading playwrights and performers during the prolonged COVID-19 theater closure, 1st Stage has announced eleven new artist...

Round House Theatre announces revised 2020–2021 season

Round House Theatre has announced an updated lineup of plays, conversations, and education offerings, including digital programming for the fall and winter and a return to live productions in its...

Emoji-titled ‘??‍???‍?’ from Solas Nua invites online interplay

Celebrating Solas Nua’s 15th anniversary, the DC-based Irish arts organization has commissioned a series of digital plays from African-American playwright Jeremy Keith Hunter and Irish playwright John...

For one singular celebration, Helen Hayes Awards glam goes multiplatform

Culminating the 2020 Helen Hayes Awards recognizing outstanding work on Washington-area stages in 2019, the theater community will gather for one singular celebration in three successive digital...

IN Series digital opera season lifts off this weekend with a festival of premieres

IN Series launches its groundbreaking 2020–2021 digital opera season with a Festival Weekend of world premieres September 17 to 19, 2020. The season, characterized by genre-defying collaborations with...

GALA Hispanic Theatre announces 2020–2021 season and plans to reopen

November 23, 2020, UPDATE: FUEGO FLAMENCO XVI, originally scheduled for December 4–6, 2020, has been cancelled. November 3, 2020, UPDATE: The Department of Homeland Security of the District of...

Olney Theatre Center takes ‘The Humans’ from stage to stream

The Humans—Stephen Karam’s Tony Award–winning family dramedy—was slated for a run at Olney Theatre Center this season, but that physical production was shelved this summer when the COVID would not...

Legendary Bread and Puppet Theater to perform on the Mall September 19 and 20

Against the backdrop of COVID-19, racial injustice, and the upcoming election, CulturalDC is staging one of the first large-scale productions in the Washington, DC, area since the pandemic began. The...

Whitney White and Soyica Colbert join Shakespeare Theatre Company

Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Simon Godwin has announced that Whitney White and Soyica Colbert—the director and the dramaturg for The Amen Corner—are joining STC as associate...

Young Playwrights’ Theater names first Young Playwrights in Progress

Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) has announced that Savannah Miller and Adanna Paul are its first two participants in the 2020-2021 Young Playwrights in Progress (YPIP) new play development program....

Studio Theatre enlists Black artists for March and The Breath Project

Studio Theatre has commissioned seven Black artists who are attending the 57th anniversary March on Washington Friday, August 28, to create artistic responses that bear witness to their experience at...

2020 Helen Hayes Awards to be revealed over four weeks on 21 Zooms

theatreWashington has announced updated plans for the 36th annual Helen Hayes Awards—originally scheduled to take place at The Anthem on May 18, 2020, but postponed because of COVID. Celebrated as a...

Sheldon Epps Joins Ford’s Theatre Leadership Team

Sheldon Epps will join the Ford’s Theatre leadership team as Senior Artistic Advisor. He steps into the new role as the theater reevaluates its 2020–2021 season amid the national reckoning for racial...

Black Artist Coalition begins in the DMV

Announced today, the Black Artist Coalition (BAC) has formed in response to the increasing awareness of both macro- and microaggressions that have more often than not tainted Black artists’ experience...

American Shakespeare Center to livestream performances via Marquee TV

American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, has announced that their Summer 2020 SafeStart Season will be available for online viewing in partnership with Marquee TV. Dubbed “BlkFrs LIVE,” live...

Venues continue to extend shutdown with delayed seasons

As the current public safety situation with COVID-19 continues to be unpredictable, DMV-area theaters and other venues are being forced to make decisions regarding their upcoming fall seasons. Many...

New season of ‘Shakespeare Hour LIVE’ returns in September

Shakespeare Theatre Company will continue its online program Shakespeare Hour LIVE! in September with episodes devoted to Shakespeare and the Law (September 9), Shakespeare & Film (September 16),...

Jade Jones as rapper “Litty Official” debuts hip-hop mixtape

DMV rapper “Litty Official” releases their mixtape He Could Never on Spotify, Soundcloud, and iTunes. Jade Jones, the artist behind Litty, has crafted a standout lo-fi trap mixtape for the moment with...

Update: Psalm’s Salon to feature women of color, Studio Theatre extends series

Studio Theatre‘s series of digital salons—Psalm‘s Salons at Studio—continues its exploration of equity in theater on August 20 at 5 pm with Natalie Graves Tucker, Farah Lawal Harris, and Lady Dane...

Woolly Mammoth announces next season of live shows with dates TBD

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces its 2020–2021 season featuring the return of a postponed production, new partnerships, a digital season, an evolution of Woolly’s subscription plan, and...

‘Black Trans Women’ online event affirms #BlackTransLivesMatter

Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, announces Black Trans Women at the Center: An Evening of Short Plays, a celebration of Black trans talent and experience coproduced by Lady Dane Figueroa...

Arena Stage announces new season to begin in January 2021

In a swift pivot, Arena Stage has recently announced an upcoming season that reflects their commitment to compelling, dynamic work packed with drama, humor, music, and first-class storytellers. The...

New study: Theatergoers are averse to returning but woke to racism

Shugoll Research, a national marketing research company in Bethesda, Maryland, has released findings from a Wave 2 online survey it conducted with 743 DC-area theatergoers about three pressing areas...

The Kennedy Center introduces multiple social impact initiatives

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has recently revealed a plan for several ongoing and long-term social impact initiatives—and the urgency and importance of this work has only grown...

Mosaic Theater announces postponements and temporary leadership change

Mosaic Theater Company has canceled its plans to open Alexandra Petri’s Inherit the Wind in August and announced suspension of its on-stage season through 2020. At the same time, Mosaic announced,...

Synetic Theater’s much-anticipated ‘The Decameron’ is now online

Paused a month ago out of respect for Black Lives Matter protests, Synetic Theatre’s much-anticipated original series The Decameron is back on the virtual boards. Each day through the end of July,...

Expert artists from 1st Stage to offer classes online

Something new and engaging is coming our way. A singular opportunity for area theatergoers who want to learn more about how theater is made: 1st Stage in Tysons is offering a Virtual Classroom. The...

Capital-area community theaters plan fundraising telethon

As COVID-19 continues to ravage the country, its effects on the arts have been devastating. Many organizations have turned to creative ways to raise funds in an effort to offset losses from canceled...

Rorschach Theatre to stream ‘Magic in Rough Spaces’ this weekend

Four pieces developed by Rorschach Theatre artists will be showcased in online readings this weekend, June 27 and 28, 2020, as “Magic in Rough Spaces.” Three works are brand new; one is a “bonus...

In Brave Soul Collective online debut, raw monologues about anti-Blackness

Brave Soul Collective (BSC) launches their virtual performance season Sunday, June 28, 2020, at 7 pm EST with Question Marks—an online event of raw, thought-provoking theater that addresses one...

DMV-area organizations plan for a virtual summer camp experience

As the end dates for social-distancing recommendations keep being pushed further toward the end of the year, many DC, Maryland, and Virginia arts organizations are committing to an effort to connect...

Woolly Mammoth launches new Connectivity Core Partner Program

As the nation grapples with profound racial unrest—in addition to a global health crisis that is disproportionately affecting Black and Indigenous people—DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is...

DMV theaters take a knee and take a stand

Beyond mourning and outrage, these DC Metro performing arts institutions have gone on the record with commitments to make a difference and be accountable. (Last updated June 12, 2020, 3:30 pm.: added...

Solas Nua puts ‘Being Here’ on pause to address protests for racial equality

From Artistic Director Rex Daugherty June 9, 2020: Dear friends of Solas Nua, I wanted to let you know that we are pausing our production of BEING HERE to give the artists more time to make the...