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== Theater Leadership ==
== Theater Leadership ==


Molly Smith is the Artistic Director of Arena Stage. She has been a focused on new play development for the past 30 years while at Arena Stage as well as Perseverance Theatre in Alaska, the theater she founded and led for 19 years1. She founded Arena's downstairs series, which has read and workshopped some sixty plays, half of which have gone on to full productions. Smith has commissioned numerous world premieres including Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning "How I Learned to Drive" and "Mineola Twins", Tim Acito’s "The Women of Brewster Place", Moises Kaufman’s "33 Variations", Charles Randolph-Wright's "Blue", Zora Neale Hurston's lost American play "Polk County" and "Passion Play, a cycle" by Sarah Ruhl. Her directorial work has also been seen at the Shaw Festival in Canada, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, and Centaur Theatre in Montreal, and includes the shows "South Pacific", "Mack and Mabel", "Anna Christie" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."2 Smith has served as Literary Advisor to the Sundance Theatre Lab3 and formed the Arena Stage Writers Council4, comprised of leading American playwrights. Smith brings artists of international serves as a member of the Board of the Theatre Communications Group as well as the Center for International Theatre Development. She directed two feature films, "Raven's Blood" and "Making Contact", and received Honorary Doctorates from both Towson and American Universities.
'''Molly Smith''' is the Artistic Director of Arena Stage. She has been a focused on new play development for the past 30 years while at Arena Stage as well as Perseverance Theatre in Alaska, the theater she founded and led for 19 years1. She founded Arena's downstairs series, which has read and workshopped some sixty plays, half of which have gone on to full productions. Smith has commissioned numerous world premieres including Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning "How I Learned to Drive" and "Mineola Twins", Tim Acito’s "The Women of Brewster Place", Moises Kaufman’s "33 Variations", Charles Randolph-Wright's "Blue", Zora Neale Hurston's lost American play "Polk County" and "Passion Play, a cycle" by Sarah Ruhl. Her directorial work has also been seen at the Shaw Festival in Canada, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, and Centaur Theatre in Montreal, and includes the shows "South Pacific", "Mack and Mabel", "Anna Christie" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."2 Smith has served as Literary Advisor to the Sundance Theatre Lab3 and formed the Arena Stage Writers Council4, comprised of leading American playwrights. Smith brings artists of international serves as a member of the Board of the Theatre Communications Group as well as the Center for International Theatre Development. She directed two feature films, "Raven's Blood" and "Making Contact", and received Honorary Doctorates from both Towson and American Universities.


Stephen Richard joined Arena Stage in 1991. In addition to his leadership and management responsibilities, he is the primary liaison with Arena’s extraordinary Board of Trustees, where he serves as Vice President. Mr. Richard represents Arena Stage to regional and national organizations, such as the League of Resident Theatres, and by serving on and chairing NEA panels. He currently serves on the boards of the Federal City Council, the Greater Washington Cultural Alliance and the National Music Center and Museum Task Force. Mr. Richard previously managed the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He has taught at UCLA, Cal State-LA, Carnegie Mellon and in the Masters in Arts Management Program for Goucher College in Baltimore. He also works as a consultant for non-profit organizations. His clients have included The Howard Heinz Endowments (Pittsburgh), the National Kidney Foundation (New York), American Symphony Orchestra League (New York) and the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA).<ref name="Leadership">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenastage.org/about/leadership/|author=Arena Stage|publisher=Arena Stage|date=2007/07/10 |accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>
Executive Director'''Stephen Richard''' joined Arena Stage in 1991. In addition to his leadership and management responsibilities, he is the primary liaison with Arena’s extraordinary Board of Trustees, where he serves as Vice President. Mr. Richard represents Arena Stage to regional and national organizations, such as the League of Resident Theatres, and by serving on and chairing NEA panels. He currently serves on the boards of the Federal City Council, the Greater Washington Cultural Alliance and the National Music Center and Museum Task Force. Mr. Richard previously managed the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He has taught at UCLA, Cal State-LA, Carnegie Mellon and in the Masters in Arts Management Program for Goucher College in Baltimore. He also works as a consultant for non-profit organizations. His clients have included The Howard Heinz Endowments (Pittsburgh), the National Kidney Foundation (New York), American Symphony Orchestra League (New York) and the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA).<ref name="Leadership">{{cite web |url=http://www.arenastage.org/about/leadership/|author=Arena Stage|publisher=Arena Stage|date=2007/07/10 |accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>




Revision as of 21:32, 10 July 2007

File:Arena Stage logo.gif

Introduction

“The core purpose of Arena Stage is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics to charged dramas to robust musicals. Our focus is on theater of the Americas; we produce American classics, premieres of new plays and contemporary stories. Our Arena is a forum, a coliseum, a place for audiences to argue, discuss and meet each other over the theatrical divide. At the center is art; all other programs thrive in concentric circles supporting the art.”1--Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith

Arena Stage is a producing theater located in Washington, D.C. founded by Zelda Fichandler, Tom Fichandler and Edward Mangum in 1950. Arena is a pioneer of the regional theater movement in the United States[1]. Several of its significant achievements include being: one of the first American theaters to convert to nonprofit status; the first regional theater to transfer a production to Broadway[2]("The Great White Hope" in 1968); the first American company to tour the Soviet Union[3] (1973); the first regional theater to receive the Regional Theatre Tony Award for Artistic Excellence (1976), now given annually to a regional theater; and the first American company to perform at the Hong Kong Arts Festival (1980).

Today, led by Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Stephen Richard, Arena Stage is a two-theater complex comprised of the Fichandler Stage (formerly the Arena) and the Kreeger Theater. The Old Vat Room has been converted into a rehearsal hall. When both theaters are in operation, Arena Stage employs nearly 200 theater professionals and presents 16 performances per week during its eight-play subscription season. Arena performs to more than 250,000 patrons during a September-June season.

Arena Stage is currently conducting its Next Stage Campaign, a $125 million renovation project to create a new home for Arena Stage on D.C.’s Southwest Waterfront. The finished complex will be known as Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, and will provide state-of-the-art rehearsal rooms, administrative offices, and performance spaces including the addition of The Cradle, a 200-seat black box theater dedicated to the development and production of new plays. As of December 2006, Arena Stage had raised $100 million of the total goal.


History

“There is a hunger to see the human presence acted out. As long as that need remains, people will find a way to do theater. ”- Zelda Fichandler

No professional theaters existed in Washington, D.C. in 1950. Actors' Equity did not permit its members to perform in segregated houses and other performance spaces in the area, including Ford’s Theatre and The National. From its inception in 1950, Arena Stage opened its doors to anyone who wished to buy a ticket, becoming the first integrated theater in the Nation’s Capital. Arena was founded under the direction of Zelda Fichandler, Thomas C. Fichandler and Edward Mangum, and it started in the 247-seat Hippodrome Theatre, a converted movie house on New York Avenue. The theater opened with “She Stoops to Conquer.” The first five seasons were produced at the Hipprodrome and included productions such as “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Twelfth Night” and “Our Town.”[4]

The 1954/55 season was dark as Arena searched for a new home with a bigger capacity to meet audience demand. In 1955, Arena moved to the former Heurich Brewery in Foggy Bottom. This 500-seat theater was nicknamed “The Old Vat”, honoring the brewery’s kettles as well as referencing Britain’s famed “Old Vic” theater. Not long after, the theater assumed non-profit status in recognition that high-quality theater should be accessible to all audiences and Arena could now concentrate on serving as “an instrument of civilization.” [5]

Arena's artistic achievements in the 1960s and 70s included several awards and firsts for regional theater. In 1961, the company opened its now trademark 800-seat theater-in-the-round, designed by Harry Weese in Southwest D.C. Arena premiered “The Great White Hope” in 1967 under the direction of Edwin Sherin. Howard Sackler’s drama, starring then-unknown actors James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander, was the first regional play to transfer to Broadway and won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The Kreeger Theater, a 514-seat auditorium also designed by Harry Weese, opened in 1971. In 1976 Arena was recognized by The American Theatre Wing with a Tony Award for artistic excellence, the first theater outside New York to be honored as such[6]

In the 1980s Arena Stage continued to grow and serve its audience with the advent of audio description, a service for people with visual impairment to experience plays through live narration of the action onstage.“The Arena Stage Campaign,” a three-year drive to establish an endowment closed in 1986, raising more than $6 million in endowment funds.

Tom Fichandler retired at the end of the 1985/86 season, followed by Zelda Fichandler at the end of the 1990/91 season. To commemorate their achievements, the Arena was renamed the Fichandler Stage. Associate Producing Director Douglas C. Wager was named Fichandler's replacement for the start of the 1991/92 season.

After seven seasons as Artistic Director, Wager announced his resignation in 1996; the 1997/98 season would be his last. Molly Smith was named Artistic Director in 1998 and one season later Arena had the most successful single-ticket sales in its history, earning over $3 million.

The 21st century is a busy time for Arena Stage. In addition to producing bold work and furthering the future of American theater, Arena has been developing plans to renovate the 50 year old theater complex. Arena Stage Mead Center for American Theater, designed by renowned architect Bing Thom, will be the new home of Arena Stage on the existing Southwest Waterfront location. Plans include preserving and updating the existing Kreeger Theater and Fichandler Stage and building The Cradle, a new 200-seat theater dedicated to the development of new American theater.

Theater Leadership

Molly Smith is the Artistic Director of Arena Stage. She has been a focused on new play development for the past 30 years while at Arena Stage as well as Perseverance Theatre in Alaska, the theater she founded and led for 19 years1. She founded Arena's downstairs series, which has read and workshopped some sixty plays, half of which have gone on to full productions. Smith has commissioned numerous world premieres including Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning "How I Learned to Drive" and "Mineola Twins", Tim Acito’s "The Women of Brewster Place", Moises Kaufman’s "33 Variations", Charles Randolph-Wright's "Blue", Zora Neale Hurston's lost American play "Polk County" and "Passion Play, a cycle" by Sarah Ruhl. Her directorial work has also been seen at the Shaw Festival in Canada, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, and Centaur Theatre in Montreal, and includes the shows "South Pacific", "Mack and Mabel", "Anna Christie" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."2 Smith has served as Literary Advisor to the Sundance Theatre Lab3 and formed the Arena Stage Writers Council4, comprised of leading American playwrights. Smith brings artists of international serves as a member of the Board of the Theatre Communications Group as well as the Center for International Theatre Development. She directed two feature films, "Raven's Blood" and "Making Contact", and received Honorary Doctorates from both Towson and American Universities.

Executive DirectorStephen Richard joined Arena Stage in 1991. In addition to his leadership and management responsibilities, he is the primary liaison with Arena’s extraordinary Board of Trustees, where he serves as Vice President. Mr. Richard represents Arena Stage to regional and national organizations, such as the League of Resident Theatres, and by serving on and chairing NEA panels. He currently serves on the boards of the Federal City Council, the Greater Washington Cultural Alliance and the National Music Center and Museum Task Force. Mr. Richard previously managed the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He has taught at UCLA, Cal State-LA, Carnegie Mellon and in the Masters in Arts Management Program for Goucher College in Baltimore. He also works as a consultant for non-profit organizations. His clients have included The Howard Heinz Endowments (Pittsburgh), the National Kidney Foundation (New York), American Symphony Orchestra League (New York) and the Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA).[7]



Artistic Leadership Management Leadership
1950-1991 Zelda Fichandler 1950-1986 Thomas C. Fichandler
1991-1998 Douglas C. Wager 1986-1991 William Stewart
1998-Present Molly Smith 1991-Present Stephen Richard

Outreach

The Arena Stage experience does not stop when the curtain closes. Artists are connected with the community through various education and engagement activities that go well beyond the stage and into the lives of our patrons of all ages. The Arena Stage education programs include professional development for teachers, a four and two-week summer camp, a student playwright project and many others.

Audience members of Arena Stage can enrich their experience through pre- and post-show discussions with artists, directors and designers. In the spirit of artistic and literary salons of the past, "The Salon" features Artistic Director Molly Smith and other artistic leaders in a series of lively, in-depth conversations with the playwrights, actors, directors, designers and audiences which make Arena Stage so unique.[8] Similarly, post-show discussions immediately following performances offer a chance for the actors and directors to offer anecdotes and insight into the production and the audience to share its experiences with the artists directly. More information about education and outreach programs can be found at the Arena Stage web site.

2007/08 Season

The 2007/08 season features three world premieres, two regional premieres and a salute to legendary playwright Arthur Miller.

33 Variations

Well

  • Regional premiere
  • By Lisa Kron, directed by Kyle Donnelly
    • 9/14/2007-10/14/2007 in the Fichandler

The Women of Brewster Place

  • World premiere
  • Co-production with the Alliance Theatre
  • By Tim Acito, based on the novel by Gloria Naylor,directed by Molly Smith
    • 10/19/2007-12/9/2007 in the Kreeger

Christmas Carol 1941

  • World premiere
  • By James Magruder, adapted from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, original songs: music by Henry Krieger, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead
  • directed by Molly Smith
    • 11/16/2007-12/30/2007 in the Fichandler

Ella

  • Regional premiere
  • Book by Jeffery Hatcher, conceived by Rob Ruggiero & Dyke Garrison, musical arrangements by Danny Holgate
  • Directed by Rob Ruggiero
    • 12/28/2007-2/24/2008 in the Kreeger

The Arthur Miller Festival

"Can it be that we have the beginnings of an American version of a national theatre without being aware of it? I am speaking, of course of the regional theaters in the United States of which Arena is certainly one of the oldest and finest." -Arthur Miller, 1990

  • Death of a Salesman
    • By Arthur Miller, directed by Timothy Bond
    • in reparatory, 3/14/2008-5/18/2008 in the Fichandler
  • A View from the Bridge
    • By Arthur Miller, directed by Daniel Aukin
    • in reparatory, 3/21/2008-5/18/2008 in the Fichandler

The Mystery of Irma Vep

  • By Charles Ludlam, directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman
    • 5/2/2008-6/8/2008 in the Kreeger

Arena Presents

Emergence-SEE!

  • Written and performed by Daniel Beaty
    • 7/5/2007-7/22/2007 in the Kreeger

Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway

  • Created and executed by Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman
    • 3/6/2008-3/23/2007 in the Kreeger
  1. ^ Hathaway, Brad (2007-06-21). "Arena Stage". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  2. ^ NEA (2007-06-27). "Arena Stage takes rist on The Great White Hope". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  3. ^ Sharon Kennedy (1996-05-19). DCMDVA Arts http://www.dcmdva-arts.org/sourceth/Arenahistory.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Arena Stage (2007/06/29). Arena Stage http://www.arenastage.org/about/history/50s/. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ Betty Parker (20077/02/19). WRLC Libraries https://www.aladin.wrlc.org/gsdl2_70/collect/faids/import/ENvifgm00009.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ The American Theatre Wing (2007/06/29). The American Theatre Wing http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search. Retrieved 2007-06-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ Arena Stage (2007/07/10). Arena Stage http://www.arenastage.org/about/leadership/. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Arena Stage (2007-06-21). "Arena Stage Outreach/Audience Events". Arena Stage. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
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