Shakespeare Theatre Company plots next season with new twists

Revised programming includes pre-recorded, sound installation, online and in-person theater productions.

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 pre-pandemic. Much will now be online, with some in person with precautions.

“We are working to responsibly invite audiences, actors, and staff back into our theaters,” said Jennings. “We have a dedicated Safety Committee who has been working for months on every detail to conform to regional and national guidelines. We are planning for online and immersive productions for Phase 2 of ReOpen DC in accordance with the Mayor’s office, and returning to live theater events when we reach Phase 3.”

Godwin elaborated: “Since April, we have been connecting in meaningful ways with our patrons through different streaming content and channels, such as our weekly Shakespeare Hour LIVE! discussions with internationally acclaimed actors, directors, and scholars, our virtual Camp Shakespeare for student thespians, and recent benefit events such as Will on the Hill and our annual Gala, which brought in international audiences. What we have been learning is that theater is here—in Harman Hall, but it is also here—at your home, and here—on your laptop. STC is Here. Anyplace where you can connect with your favorite artists, with significant plays, that is theater. That is where STC will be.”

All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, the first show of the season, is a study in Shakespearean villainy, written by and starring STC Affiliated Artist Patrick Page, who has played many of theater’s most reviled bad guys. “We are very lucky to have Patrick share his one-man play with us in a format that can be viewed online. All the Devils Are Here will launch STC Digital, our new online platform that we will use throughout the season to reach a wider audience,” Jennings said. “After the cinematic caliber of our annual gala, we are looking forward to making our online productions as beautiful and as fully realized as possible.”

“Blindness” at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Photo by Helen Maybanks.

After a sold-out run this summer at the Donmar Warehouse in London, the immersive sound installation Blindness comes to Sidney Harman Hall and invites audiences into an engrossing and thrilling story of a pandemic that causes blindness. Hailed as a “triumph” by The New York Times, this remarkable piece of art for our times—adapted by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and directed by Walter Meierjohann (former Artistic Director of HOME in Manchester, England)—features a haunting recorded performance by Juliet Stevenson (Truly, Madly, Deeply) that patrons experience through headphones. Touring also to the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto and the off-Broadway Daryl Roth Theatre in New York City, Blindness is limited to 40 guests per showing, and is offered as a special add-on event.

“We want you to come back to Sidney Harman Hall and just focus on the performance, to enjoy your night out at the theater again,” Godwin states. “And, we also realize that some of even our most dedicated patrons may not be ready to return to the theater this season, so we are offering the rest of the season’s shows—The Crucible, The Chairs, Red Velvet, and As You Like It—as both online or in socially distanced theatrical options when we reach Phase 3.”

STC’s new Associate Director Whitney White (The Amen Corner, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord) returns to direct Arthur Miller’s The CrucibleGodwin says, “She has an ambitious plan for this production. Whitney is going to revitalize Miller’s political drama for our times.”

STC’s Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul (Camelot, Peter Pan and Wendy) will direct Eugène Ionesco’s classic of absurdist theater The Chairs. “This play is about isolation, loneliness, the end of life—and yet it’s very funny,” Godwin offers. “It’s sweet and sardonic, exactly what we need right now.”

Ira Aldridge at age 19 in the role of Othello, in a painting by James Northcote, © Bridgeman Art Library / Manchester Art Gallery.

“We are excited to present Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet, the history of the great Black American actor Ira Aldridge, who famously played Shakespearean heroes across Europe when slavery was still legal in the United States. “Jade King Carroll, a director I really admire and have wanted to work with, will direct,” says Godwin. “This is a season of works that confront our moment, our anxieties, our hopes.”

“Finally, I am excited to direct As You Like Itone of my favorite Shakespearean comedies, an escape from the politics of the court into a green world of wonder, love, and family reunions. This is a play we had planned for the original 2020–2021 season, and I’m pleased we will be able to retain the production for this season.”

Subscriptions are on sale now: https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/events/2020-21-season-subscriptions/. Single tickets for All the Devils Are Here and Blindness will be available for purchase November 16.

Performance dates for the season will be released later. All artists and titles are subject to change.

SHOW DESCRIPTIONS

ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE: HOW SHAKESPEARE INVENTED THE VILLAIN
Adapted from the works of William Shakespeare
Written and Performed by Patrick Page
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” —The Tempest

Macbeth. Iago. Claudius. STC Affiliated Artist Patrick Page invites you to experience the evolution of evil in Shakespeare’s villains—from rogues and cutthroats to tyrants and sociopaths. Lovingly nicknamed “The Villain of Broadway” (Playbill) for his delicious Broadway performances in roles like The Grinch (Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical) and Scar (The Lion King), and fresh from his Tony Award–nominated performance as Hades (Hadestown), Patrick Page explores how Shakespeare created the treacherous characters we all love to hate. This mesmerizing solo performance is available online only, and STC subscribers will have the exclusive opportunity to talk directly with Patrick in special live, post-show conversations.

BLINDNESS
The Donmar Warehouse Production
Based on the novel by José Saramago
Adapted by Simon Stephens
Directed by Walter Meierjohann
With the voice of Juliet Stevenson
What do we gain after all is lost?

Based on Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago’s phantasmagorical novel, adapted by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), Blindness begins with the nightmarish premise of a pandemic that causes blindness. In an immersive sound and light installation, the production features the recorded audio performance of the Olivier Award-winning actress Juliet Stevenson (Truly, Madly, Deeply), for a wholly unique experience. Hailed by The Guardian as “an exquisitely told story of resilience, violence, and hope,” this remarkable work of art posits the paranoia of governmental indifference to the plight of the suffering, yet offers a message of hope in times of darkness. This actor-less installation, limited to 40 guests at a time, will be a welcoming first step back into Sidney Harman Hall.

THE CHAIRS
By Eugène Ionesco
Translated by Martin Crimp
Directed by Alan Paul
A Surreal Work for Surreal Times

Prepare to be taken somewhere new. An older couple prepares for the arrival of a speaker who may (or may not) hold the secret to the meaning of life. As they unstack chairs for an anticipated audience, we are confronted with challenging questions about our existence: How do we patch the cracks in reality? What is the meaning of it all? And exactly how many chairs can one room possibly hold? By turns hilarious, elegiac, and utterly humanizing, Ionesco’s highwire masterpiece of the absurd will be directed Helen Hayes Award–winning Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul (Peter Pan and Wendy).

RED VELVET
By Lolita Chakrabarti
Directed by Jade King Carroll
A Revolutionary Life Reexamined

London’s Theatre Royal, 1833. Theater history is made when the greatest Shakespeare actor of the times, Edmund Kean, collapses onstage while performing the lead role in Othello, and Ira Aldridge, a Black American actor, takes his place. As a bill promoting the abolition of slavery sends shock waves through Parliament, how will London react to Aldridge’s groundbreaking performance? Written by the 2012 Most Promising Playwright (Evening Standard Theatre Awards), Red Velvet tells the forgotten history of a pioneering actor, rebuked by his native land, who found triumph amid a tempest of social injustice and personal sacrifice.

THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Whitney White
The Original Witch Hunt

Arthur Miller’s classic drama of paranoia and deceit continues to burn brightly for generations of theatergoers. Frenzied finger pointing, false accusations, and a shared hysteria challenge the fortitude of John Proctor, who must unravel the dark mystery that confounds his community. Conjuring an infamous chapter of our nation’s past—the Salem witch trials of 17th-century New England—The Crucible dramatizes the power of rumor and the seduction of righteous fanaticism. This timeless parable is reimagined by Associate Director Whitney White (The Amen Corner), admired for her “consistently imaginative and unconventional stagings” (The Undefeated), shedding light on the American struggle between public opinion and private truths.

AS YOU LIKE IT
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Simon Godwin
A Jubilant Romantic Comedy

Escape into the green world of Arden where love blossoms, friendships flourish, and poems grow on trees. Fleeing the perils of court, the brilliant Rosalind and her friends find safety in the forest. Rosalind, disguised as a boy, seizes the chance to stretch her legs, rebuffing lovesick shepherds while bewitching Orlando and the audience alike. With errant love notes, misguided passions, and gorgeous poetry, Shakespeare’s playful romantic comedy unpacks the mad nature of love and concludes it can transform reality. Artistic Director Simon Godwin directs this celebration of loyalty and renewal by embracing the Shakespearean maxim that, even in times of pandemic, all the world’s a stage.

HEALTH and SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Everyone’s health and safety is our top priority at STC. As we prepare to welcome audiences back, we will be developing procedures to best serve everyone entering our theater. These plans will continue to evolve as we learn more.

Guidelines
•All staff, volunteers, and visitors will wear face masks in our buildings.
•We request that any patron who is feeling ill to please stay home. Our staff and volunteers will do the same.
•Before your performance, look for an STC Virtual Valet message in your email which will include all of our safety guidelines plus any updates from Washington D.C.’s ReOpen DC plan.

Enhanced Cleaning Procedures
•In addition to our normal cleaning process, we will increase the cleaning all public spaces, including the theaters, lobbies, and restrooms.
•We are thoroughly disinfecting door handles, counters, and all shared surfaces prior to and after every performance.
•Hand sanitizer stations will be available throughout the building.
•All restrooms are equipped with touchless soap dispensers.

Tickets & Seating — Travel from the street to your seat in a completely contactless manner.
•A fully digital ticketing system allows contactless ticket scanning.
•Entrances and exits will be clearly marked for single flow of patrons. Elevator rides will be limited to individual parties.
•In accordance with our city government’s ReOpen DC plan, our theater’s seating has been reduced for proper social distancing. In Sidney Harman Hall our maximum seating capacity for performances will be 196 (normal capacity 761) and no mainstage shows will be at the Michael R. Klein Theatre at the Lansburgh.
•Alternate rows will be left empty to allow at least six feet of distance between audience members. In almost all instances patrons will be able to sit with all members of their own party.

Programs
•Our ASIDES programs will be digital. In addition to information about the production, programs will offer enhanced content including videos and up-to-date extras. Programs will be accessible through our website and sent by Virtual Valet email in advance of each performance.

Money-Back Guarantee
•We recognize these are uncertain times. If for any reason we must cancel a performance, we will honor our audience’s commitment to STC by offering a full array of ticket exchange and refund options.

Audience Feedback
•We’re not done. These plans and procedures are the first steps to safeguarding STC patrons. We welcome all feedback and recommendations for improvements. Please email [email protected] to let our Safety Committee know your ideas and concerns.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

LOLITA CHAKRABARTI is an award-winning actress and writer. She has worked extensively as an actress on stage and screen. As a writer Red Velvet is her debut play (Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright 2012; Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright 2012; AWA Award for Arts and Culture 2013; WhatsonStage nominations for London Newcomer of the Year and Best New Play 2012; Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre 2012). Red Velvet premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, London in 2012 where it returned in 2014 before transferring to St Anne’s Warehouse, New York.  Lolita also wrote Last Seen – Joy for The Almeida Theatre and a five-part adaptation of The Goddess for BBC Radio 4. Lolita runs Lesata Productions with Rosa Maggiora and Adrian Lester.

THE DONMAR WAREHOUSE is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theater in Covent Garden, London, led by Artistic Director Michael Longhurst and Executive Director Henny Finch. Their mission is to bring together a wide variety of people in their intimate warehouse space and elsewhere to create, witness, and participate in thrilling, world-class theatre. The Donmar has won more than 100 awards in its 28-year history, with highlights of the program including founder artistic director Sam Mendes’ productions of Cabaret (with Alan Cumming) and The Blue Room (with Nicole Kidman). Michael Grandage (Artistic Director 2002-2012) brought notable productions of Othello with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor, and Red with Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne. Josie Rourke (AD 2012-2019) brought Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus, and a trilogy of all-female Shakespeare plays directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Current Artistic Director Michael Longhurst’s inaugural 2019-20 season focused on important stories, thrillingly told, and included new play by leading writers including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Alice Birch, and Mike Lew.

SIMON GODWIN joined Shakespeare Theatre Company as Artistic Director in September 2019. He also serves as Associate Director of the National Theatre of London, and previously as Associate Director at the Royal Court Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic, and the Royal and Derngate Theatres (Northampton). While at the Royal Court, Simon directed seven world premieres, including Routes, If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You SleepNSFWThe WitnessGoodbye to All ThatThe Acid Test and Wanderlust. He made his debut at the National Theatre with Strange Interlude followed by Man and Superman, and went on to direct The Beaux’ StratagemTwelfth Night, a celebrated production of Antony and Cleopatra with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo, and most recently, the world premiere of Simon Wood’s Hansard. Simon has also directed at the Royal Shakespeare Company, including productions of Timon of Athens with Kathryn Hunter in the titular role, which will be reimagined in early 2020 for Theatre for a New Audience in New York City and Shakespeare Theatre Company, an acclaimed Hamlet, which toured to the Kennedy Center, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Simon recently made his Tokyo debut, directing a Japanese cast in Hamlet for Theatre Cocoon. Other productions include The Little Mermaid, Krapp’s Last Tape/A Kind of Alaska, Faith HealerFar Away, Everyman, Habeas Corpus and Relatively Speaking. In 2012 Simon was awarded the inaugural Evening Standard/Burberry Award for an Emerging Director.

JADE KING CARROLL: Proof of Love (Audible/NYTW) Detroit ’67 (McCarter Theatre/Hartford Stage); Intimate Apparel, The Piano Lesson (McCarter Theatre); The Piano Lesson (Hartford Stage); Having Our Say (Hartford Stage/Long Wharf Theatre); Autumn’s Harvest (Lincoln Center Institute); A Trouble in Mind (Two River Theater & Playmaker’s Rep); Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Whipping Man, Native Gardens (Portland Stage); The Revolutionists, Sunset Baby (City Theatre); A Raisin In The Sun (Juilliard & Perseverance); The Tempest (Chatauqua Theater Company); Seven Guitars, The Persians (People’s Light and Theatre & Point Park University); King Hedley II (Portland Playhouse); Mr Chickee’s Funny Money (Atlantic Theater); Skeleton Crew (Dorset Theater Festival, Portland Stage  & Theatreworks- Palo Alto/Marin Theatre); From the Author of (Delaware Rep); A Member of the Wedding (Tennessee Williams Theater Festival); Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth (Playwright’s Realm); Associate Director for A Streetcar Named Desire and The Gin Game (Broadway),The Children’s Monologues (Carnegie Hall). Jade has developed works with playwrights Chisa Hutchinson, Dael Orlandersmith, Candrice Jones, Sofia Alvarez, Aurin Squire, Jonathan Payne, Kia Corthron, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Joshua Allen, Dominique Morriseau, Sam Chanse,  Kara Lee Corthron, Betty Shamieh, Keith Joseph Adkins, Janine Nabers, Kelli Goff, Kristen Greenidge, C.A Johnson and many others, culminating with readings and workshops at Roundabout Theatre, Playwright’s Horizon,  New York Theatre Workshop, The O’Neill Theater Center, McCarter Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Huntington Theatre, Two River Theatre, New Dramatists, Second Stage Theatre, The Lark, Primary Stages, Time Warner New Play Festival, LABryinth, PlayPenn, Joe’s Pub, Goethe Institute, Lincoln Center Institute, and many others. Jade has taught, guest lectured and directed at Juilliard, Princeton, New York University, Rutgers, Penn State, WVU, SUNY, Adelphi, Kean University, NYCDA, Point Park University, Iowa University. Jade was presented with the Paul Green Award from the National Theatre Conference and The Estate of August Wilson. Past Fellowships & Awards: TCG New Generations Future Leader, New York Theatre Workshop, Van Lier, Second Stage Theatre, Women’s Project, McCarter Theatre, SUNY 40 under 40,  Gates Millennium Scholar.

WALTER MEIERJOHANN was Artistic Director of HOME from 2013 to 2018 and International Associate Director at the Young Vic in London. At the Young Vic, his productions included the European premiere of In the Red and Brown Water by Tarell McCraney and Kafka’s Monkey, which toured to Sydney, Melbourne, Athens, Paris, Tokyo, Istanbul, Taipei, and New York. The production, which starred Kathryn Hunter, also showed in HOME’s 2015 opening season, with Hunter reprising her lead role. Walter has worked extensively in Germany and the UK at theaters including: the Barbican; Liverpool Playhouse; Nottingham Playhouse; The Curve, Leicester; Residenztheater, Munich; Staatsschauspiel, Dresden; Schauspiel, Graz; and Arena, Berlin, for Peter Stein’s Faust Ensemble and Impulse Theatre Festival. Prior to joining the Young Vic, Walter was Artistic Director of Neubau at the State Theatre of Dresden. In opera, he has assisted the late Klaus-Michael Grueber in his productions of Aida (Nederlands Opera, Amsterdam) and Don Giovanni (Ruhrfestspiele).

PATRICK PAGE received a Tony Award nomination for his work in Hadestown on Broadway after starring as Hades in the off-Broadway, Citadel Theatre, and National Theatre productions. Other Broadway: The Inquisitor in Saint Joan, Valentina in Casa Valentina, Buckley in Time to Kill, Adult Men in Spring Awakening, DeGuiche in Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons, Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar, Scar in The Lion King, The Grinch in Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, and Mackie in The Kentucky Cycle. Other New York: Cymbeline in Cymbeline (New York Shakespeare Festival/Delacort), Max in The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall). Regional: Page recently created the roles of Dom Claude Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame at La Jolla Playhouse and Papermill Playhouse, and Captain Dragutin Dimitrijevic in Rajiiv Joseph’s Archduke at the Mark Taper Forum. He is an Associate Artist of The Old Globe in San Diego (Cyrano, Malvolio), and the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, D.C. (Coriolanus, Prospero, Macbeth, Iago, Claudius). Television: recurring roles on ElementaryMadam SecretaryFlesh and Bone, and guest starring roles on EvilNCIS: New OrleansThe Good WifeThe BlacklistChicago P.D., and Law and Order: S.V.U.

ALAN PAUL is the Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company.  His STC credits include the world premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s Peter Pan and Wendy, The Comedy of Errors (Helen Hayes Nomination, Best Director), Camelot, Romeo and Juliet, Kiss Me, Kate, Man of La Mancha (Helen Hayes Nomination, Best Director), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Helen Hayes Award, Best Director), The Boys From Syracuse, The Winter’s Tale, and Twelfth Night. Recent highlights include Cabaret atOlney Theatre Center (Helen Hayes Nomination, Best Director), Spring Awakening at Round House Theatre, The Pajama Game at Arena Stage, Kiss Me, Kate at 5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle), Silence! The Musical (Helen Hayes Nomination, Best Director) and The Rocky Horror Show at Studio Theatre, and I Am My Own Wife at Signature Theatre. Classical credits include the world premiere of Penny at Washington National Opera (Kennedy Center), Butterfly / Saigon (Strathmore), Fire and Air (Kennedy Center), The Pirates of Penzance at Palm Beach Opera, and numerous collaborations with The National Symphony Orchestra.  In 2013, Alan was the only American finalist for the European Opera Directing Prize in Vienna, Austria.  Alan has taught at UMD’s Opera Studio and Washington National Opera’s Young Artist Program.

SIMON STEPHENS is an Olivier and Tony award-winning playwright. His theater credits include Fortune (Metropolitan, Tokyo), Maria, Rage (Thalia, Hamburg), The Threepenny Opera (NT), Fatherland (MIF 2017/Lyric Hammersmith/LIFT Festival 2018), Heisenberg (West End), Obsession (Barbican/Toneelgroep, Amsterdam), The SeagullHeronsMorningThree KingdomsA Thousand Stars that Explode in the SkyPunk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith); Carmen Disruption (Deutsches Schauspielhaus/Almeida); Nuclear WarBirdlandCountry MusicBluebird (Royal Court); The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (Olivier and Tony Awards for Best New Play) (NT/West End/Broadway), A Doll’s House (Young Vic/West End); Sea Wall (Bush), Harper ReganPort (Royal Exchange, Manchester/NT), and On the Shore of the Wide World (Royal Exchange, Manchester). He has also written for film, television, and radio. Simon is a professor at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University and Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith.

JULIET STEVENSON is one of Britain’s leading actors. Her most recent theater credits include The Doctor, for which she won the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Actress and is currently nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Mary StuartHamlet (Almeida/West End); Wings, and Happy Days (Young Vic). Juliet won the 1991 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in Death and the Maiden, and has been nominated a further five times. Juliet has received five BAFTA nominations for her work on screen. Her films include Truly, Madly, Deeply (Evening Standard Film Award for Best Actress), Bend it like BeckhamWhen did you last see your Father?, and Being Julia. Juliet’s latest television work includes Riviera and Out of her Mind, a comedy series with Sara Pascoe which will air in September 2020. Her other credits include One of Us and The Enfield Haunting, and she appeared as a series regular in Atlantis and The Village. She was awarded the CBE in 1999.

WHITNEY WHITE is an Obie-Award and Lily-Award winning director, writer, and musician originally from Chicago. She is an Associate Director at STC. She is a believer of alternative forms of performance, multi-disciplinary work, and collaborative processes. She is the current recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing award, is part of the Rolex Protegé and Mentorship Arts Initiative and is an Associate Artist at The Roundabout. Recent directing: The Amen Corner (STC), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP Theatre and Second Stage, NYT Critic’s Pick), Aleshea Harris’ What to Send Up When it Goes Down (The Movement Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, American Repertory Theater, The Public, NYT Critic’s Pick), An Iliad (Long Wharf), Canyon by Jonathan Caren (LA Times Critic’s Choice and recipient of the CTG Block Party Grant, IAMA), Jump by Charly Evon Simpson (National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, PlayMakers Rep). Digital projects include: Finish the Fight by Ming Peiffer (The New York Times, 24K+ viewers), Animals by Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Williamstown Theatre and Audible) and Soft Light by Aleshea Harris (The Movement Theatre). Her original musical Definition will debut at the Bushwick Starr in 2021 and her five-part cycle deconstructing Shakespeare’s women and female ambition is currently in development with American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, MA). Past residencies and fellowships: Sundance Theatre Lab, Colt Coeur, The Drama League, the Roundabout and the 2050 Fellowship at the New York Theatre Workshop. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep, BA: Northwestern University.

ABOUT SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Led by Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Executive Director Chris Jennings, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) is the nation’s premier classical theater company. STC has become synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theater more accessible to audiences in and around the nation’s capital, building on the foundation laid by Founding Artistic Director Michael Kahn.

Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, STC’s mission is to create innovative productions that inspire dialogue and connect classic works to the modern human experience. The Company focuses on works with profound ideas, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare and others—ambitious, enduring plays with universal themes—for all audiences. At this time of transition, the Company’s mission evolves with a three-year initiative to produce family-friendly theater during the holidays, and an expansion of the definition of “classic” to include playwrights previously excluded from the canon, with a renewed commitment to high-quality, exhilarating, inclusive theater.

A leader in arts education, STC has a dynamic range of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and adult acting classes to accessible community programming like play-relevant discussion series and the Free for All. For the past 27 years the Free For All program has offered an annual remount of a popular production completely free of charge to all audience members.

Located in downtown Washington, DC, STC performs in two theaters, the 451-seat Michael R. Klein Theatre at the Lansburgh and the 761-seat Sidney Harman Hall. In addition to STC productions appearing year-round, these spaces also accommodate presentations from outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. The Company has been a fixture in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood since 1992.

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