Constellation Theatre Company

Last updated
Constellation Theatre Company
Formation2007
TypeTheatre group
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Artistic director(s)
Allison Arkell Stockman (Founding Artistic Director)
Website www.constellationtheatre.org

Constellation Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company located in Washington, D.C., performing at the Source Theatre, a black box theatre. [1] Since its founding in 2007, Constellation has received several Helen Hayes Awards, including the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company in 2009. [2]

Contents

The Source Theater, Washington, D.C., during the run of Constellation Theatre Company's production of Zorro Source Theater Washington D C 2013 02 1-.jpg
The Source Theater, Washington, D.C., during the run of Constellation Theatre Company's production of Zorro

Artistic leadership

Constellation Theatre Company's founding artistic director is Allison Arkell Stockman. Stockman was a freelance director in Washington, D.C., and New York City. In 2006, she quit her job as a teacher, and started the theater company in 2007. [3]

A.J. Guban has been managing director and designer on multiple productions since the founding of the company.

Productions

Current productions

2024-2025 Season: Infinite Possiblities

Production history

2019-2020 Season
Note: Eurydice was announced but cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . [6]
2018–2019 Season: Epic Love
2017–2018 Season: Survival Instincts
2016–2017 Season
2015–2016 Season: Playtime for Grownups [7]
2014–2015 Season
2013–2014 Season
2012–2013 Season
2011–2012 Season
2010–2011 Season
2009–2010 Season
2008–2009 Season
  • Temptation
  • The Marriage of Figaro
  • Crazyface
2007–2008 Season
* denotes world premiere

Grants

In September 2013, the American Theatre Wing (the founder of the Tony Awards) awarded a National Theatre Company Grant to Constellation Theatre. [11] The grant is for general operating support to companies that "have articulated a distinctive mission, cultivated an audience, and nurtured a community of artists in ways that strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre". [12]

Awards

In 2009, Constellation received the John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.

Constellation has received 90 competitive Helen Hayes Award nominations and has received 19 of these awards.

Helen Hayes Awards
YearCategoryRecipient(s)Results
2024Outstanding Set Design - HELENSarah Reed, The School for LiesNominated
Outstanding Ensemble in a Play - HELENThe School For LiesNominated
Outstanding Costume Design - HELENFrank Labovitz, The School for LiesRecipient
2023Outstanding Production in a Musical - HELENOnce On This IslandNominated
Outstanding Musical Direction - HELENElisa Rosman & Refiye Tappan, Once On This IslandNominated
Outstanding Direction in a Musical - HELENAngelisa Gillyard, Once On This IslandNominated
Outstanding Choreography in a Musical - HELENMaurice Johnson, Once on This IslandNominated
2020Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical - HELENMarty Austin Lamar, Little Shop of HorrorsNominated
Alana Thomas, Little Shop of HorrorsNominated
Chani Wereley, Little Shop of HorrorsNominated
Outstanding Sound Design - HELENTom Teasley & Chao Tian, The White SnakeNominated
Outstanding Set Design - HELENA.J. Guban, "Little Shop of Horrors"Nominated
Outstanding Production in a Musical - HELENLittle Shop of HorrorsNominated
Outstanding Musical Direction - HELENWalter "Bobby" McCoy, Little Shop of HorrorsNominated
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical - HELENChristian Montgomery, Little Shop of HorrorsNominated
Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical - HELENLittle Shop of HorrorsNominated
Outstanding Direction in a Musical - HELENNick Martin, Little Shop of HorrorsNominated
Outstanding Costume Design- HELENFrank Labovitz, Little Shop of HorrorsRecipient
Outstanding Choreography in a Musical- HELENIlona Kessell, Little Shop of HorrorsRecipient
2019Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical - HELENDa'von Moody, AidaNominated
Outstanding Sound Design - HELENGordon Nimmo-Smith (Sound Designer), Brian Lotter & Matthew Schleigh (Composers), The Caucasian Chalk CircleNominated
Outstanding Set Design - HELENA.J. Guban, The Caucasian Chalk CircleNominated
Outstanding Production in a Play - HELENMelancholy Play: A Contemporary FarceRecipient
Outstanding Musical Direction - HELENWalter "Bobby" McCoy, AidaNominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play - HELENTonya Beckman, The Skin of Our TeethNominated
Billie Krishawn, Melancholy Play: A Contemporary FarceNominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical - HELENShayla Simmons, AidaNominated
Outstanding Ensemble in a Play - HELENMelancholy Play: A Contemporary FarceNominated
Outstanding Direction in a Play - HELENNick Martin, Melancholy Play: A Contemporary FarceRecipient
Outstanding Costume Design - HELENKelsey Hunt, The Caucasian Chalk CircleRecipient
James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play - HELENScott Abernathy, The Caucasian Chalk CircleNominated
2018Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical - HELENKari Ginsburg, The Wild PartyRecipient
Outstanding Sound Design - HELENJustin Schmitz, The Wild PartyNominated
Tom Teasley, The Arabian NightsNominated
Outstanding Set Design - HELENTony Cisek, The Wild PartyNominated
A.J. Guban, The Arabian NightsNominated
Outstanding Production in a Musical - HELENThe Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Musical Direction - HELENWalter "Bobby" McCoy, The Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Lighting Design - HELENA.J. Guban, The Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play - HELENMegan Graves, Peter and the StarcatcherNominated
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical - HELENJimmy Mavrikes, The Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Ensemble in a Play - HELENPeter and the StarcatcherRecipient
Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical - HELENThe Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Direction in a Musical - HELENAllison Arkell Stockman, The Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Costume Design - HELENErik Teague, The Arabian NightsNominated
Erik Teague, The Wild PartyNominated
Outstanding Choreography in a Musical - HELENIlona Kessell, The Wild PartyNominated
James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play - HELENJordan Campbell, Peter and the StarcatcherNominated
Matt Dewberry, Peter and the StarcatcherNominated
Alex Vernon, Peter and the StarcatcherNominated
2017Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actors in a Play - HELENDallas Tolentino, Journey to the WestNominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play - HELENJustine Icy Moral, Journey to the WestNominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical - HELENJenna Berk, UrinetownNominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical - HELENMatt Dewberry, UrinetownNominated
Outstanding Sound Design - HELENPalmer Hefferan, EquusNominated
Tom Teasley, Journey to the WestRecipient
Outstanding Set Design - HELENA.J. Guban, Journey to the WestNominated
Outstanding Play - HELENEquusNominated
Outstanding Musical - HELENUrinetownNominated
Outstanding Musical Direction - HELENUrinetownNominated
Outstanding Lighting Design - HELENColin K. Bills, Journey to the WestNominated
Outstanding Direction, Musical - HELENAllison Arkell Stockman, UrinetownNominated
Outstanding Costume Design - HELENKendra Rai, Journey to the WestNominated
Outstanding Choreography, Musical - HELENIlona Kessel, UrinetownNominated
James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play - HELENRyan Tumulty, Journey to the WestNominated
2016Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical - HELENJenna Berk, Avenue QNominated
Justine Icy Moral, Avenue QNominated
Emily Zickler, Avenue QRecipient
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical - HELENMikey Cafarelli, Avenue QNominated
Vaughn Ryan Midder, Avenue QRecipient
Outstanding Sound Design - HELENTom Teasley, The Fire and The RainNominated
Outstanding Musical - HELENAvenue QRecipient
Outstanding Musical Direction - HELENJack Null, Avenue QRecipient
Outstanding Lighting Design - HELENA.J. Guban, Avenue QNominated
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical - HELENKaty Carkuff, Avenue QRecipient
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical - HELENMatt Dewberry, Avenue QNominated
Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical - HELENAvenue QRecipient
Outstanding Director of a Musical - HELENAllison Arkell Stockman, Avenue QRecipient
Outstanding Costume Design - HELENKara Waala, Avenue QNominated
Outstanding Choreography in a Play - HELENCasey Kaleba & Matthew R. Wilson, The Lieutenant of InishmoreNominated
Outstanding Choreography in a Musical - HELENRachel Leigh Dolan, Avenue QNominated
2015Outstanding Sound Design - HELENTom Teasley, The Love of the NightingaleNominated
2014Outstanding Set Design, Resident ProductionA.J. Guban, 36 ViewsNominated
Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident ProductionA.J. Guban, 36 ViewsNominated
2013The James MacArthur Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident PlayMatthew Aldwin McGee, Taking StepsRecipient
2012Outstanding Sound Design, Resident ProductionTom Teasley, Green BirdNominated
Outstanding Costume Design, Resident ProductionKendra Rai, Green BirdNominated
2011Outstanding Sound Design, Resident ProductionTom Teasley, The RamayanaRecipient
2010Outstanding Sound Design, Resident ProductionTom Teasley, CrazyfaceRecipient

[13]

The Constellation Theatre Company was nominated for the following Audience Choice Awards

Costume Designer Kendra Rai was awarded a 2014 Princess Grace Foundation honorarium to be used for the company's 2014–2015 season costumes [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They are presented by Theatre Washington, sponsored by TodayTix, a ticketing company, and supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, The Share Fund, Prince Charitable Trust, and Craig Pascal and Victor Shargai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olney Theatre Center</span> Arts center in Olney, Maryland, United States

Located in Olney, Maryland, the Olney Theatre Center offers a diverse array of professional productions year-round that enrich, nurture, and challenge a broad range of artists, audiences and students. One of the two official state theaters of Maryland, Olney Theatre Center is situated on 14 acres (57,000 m2) in the middle of the Washington–Baltimore–Frederick "triangle." There are three indoor venues: the Historic Theatre, the Roberts Mainstage, and the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab. There is also an outdoor venue, the Root Family Stage at Omi's Pavilion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arena Stage</span> Regional theater in Washington D.C.

Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C., and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It has three stages. The Artistic Director is Hana S. Sharif. It is the largest company in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Arena Stage commissions and develops new plays. Its productions have received numerous local and national awards, including the Tony Award for best regional theater and over 600 Helen Hayes Awards.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the Shakespeare canon, but its seasons include works by other classic playwrights such as Euripides, Ibsen, Wilde, Shaw, Schiller, Coward and Tennessee Williams. The company manages and performs in two spaces: The Michael R. Klein Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall. In cooperation with George Washington University, they run the STC Academy.

Euan Douglas George Morton is a Scottish actor and singer from Borrowstounness, Scotland. He is best known for his role as Boy George in the musical Taboo, receiving nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award for his performance. He played the role of King George in the musical Hamilton on Broadway from July 2017 to 10 September 2023.

Ari Roth is an American theatrical producer, playwright, director and educator. From 2014 to 2020 Roth served as the Artistic Director of Mosaic Theater Company of DC and was formerly the Artistic Director of Theater J at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center from 1997 to 2014. Over 18 seasons at Theater J, he produced more than 129 productions and created festivals including "Locally Grown: Community Supported Art," "Voices from a Changing Middle East", and Theater J's acclaimed "Beyond The Stage" and "Artistic Director's Roundtable" series. In 2010, Roth was named as one of the Forward 50, honoring nationally prominent "men and women who are leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century, and in 2017 he was given the DC Mayor's Arts Award for Visionary Leadership. In 2021, Roth launched a new partnership with A. Lorraine Robinson, founding Voices Festival Productions, to be the new home for his long-running "Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival." Their first public event was a virtual benefit in support of "Ukrainian Playwrights Under Siege" in partnership with the Arts Club of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company</span> Non-profit theatre company in Washington, D.C.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provoking. Performances are in a 265-seat courtyard-style theater.

The Studio Theatre is a non-profit theater production company located in the 14th Street corridor of Washington, D.C. It produces contemporary plays in a four-stage complex. Stages include the Metheny, the Mead and Milton, and Stage 4, a black box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Molina</span> American actress

Lauren Molina is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a co-creator and performer with the comedy-pop, undie-rock band The Skivvies. Her Broadway credits include Johanna in the actor-musician revival of Sweeney Todd. To describe her as an actress, one reviewer said "She's part Mary Martin, Lucille Ball, Kristen Wiig and [fill in the blank with your favorite opera star because Molina has one of the most powerful and flexible voices in the annals of Broadway]." While performing on the first national tour of Sweeney Todd, she received the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won a Helen Hayes award for her portrayal of Cunegunde in Candide (2010-2011), directed by Mary Zimmerman at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC, and received an IRNE nomination for the same role at the Huntington Theatre. She originated the role of Bella Rose in Desperate Measures (2017-2018) Off-Broadway and received nominations for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and Outer Critics Circle for Best Supporting Actress. In 2019, she and her Skivvies partner Nick Cearley co-conceived a new actor-musician revival of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", also playing Lucy and Linus, at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. A Detroit native, Lauren received her BFA from the University of Michigan in musical theatre. She resides in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Hall Surface</span>

Mary Hall Surface is an American theatre director, playwright, and teaching artist. Based in Washington, DC, her work focuses on theatre productions for family audiences.

Constellations is a two-hander play by the British playwright Nick Payne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSC Avant Bard</span> Non-equity theater

Avant Bard Theatre is a small, professional, nonprofit theater based in Arlington, VA. The company was founded in 1990 under the name Washington Shakespeare Company; its name was changed to WSC Avant Bard in August 2011; its name was subsequently changed to Avant Bard Theatre in October 2017. Avant Bard focuses on producing "bold and experimental productions of classic and contemporary works".

Aaron Posner is an American playwright and theatre director. He was co-founder of the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and was the artistic director of Two River Theater from 2006 to 2010. He has directed over 100 productions at major regional theater companies across the country. He has won six Helen Hayes Awards, two Barrymore Awards, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the John Gassner Prize, a Joseph Jefferson Award, a Bay Area Theatre Award, and an Eliot Norton Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Source Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.)</span> Theater company in Washington, D.C.

Source Theatre Company was a non-profit theater company in Washington, D.C., that operated from 1977 until 2002 and formally disbanded in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Zacarias</span> Mexican-American playwright

Karen Zacarías is an American playwright. She is known for her play Mariela in the Desert. It was the winner of the National Latino Playwriting Award and a finalist for other prizes. Mariela in the Desert was debuted at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Zacarías is the founder of the Young Playwrights' Theater located in Washington, D.C.

Michael J. Bobbitt is an American playwright, director, choreographer, and performing arts leader based in Boston. He will become executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council on February 1, 2021. Bobbitt was the artistic director of Adventure Theatre-MTC, the longest-running children's theater in the Washington metropolitan area, for 12 years before becoming artistic director of the New Repertory Theatre in greater Boston on August 1, 2019. Bobbitt's work has been recognized frequently as both a nominee and a recipient of the annual Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in theater.

The Keegan Theatre is an American professional theater based in Washington, D.C., that produces a mix of classics, musicals, and new works, including world premiere productions. It owns and operates a 120-seat theater in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, which it purchased and renovated in 2013. It is led by founding director Mark Rhea and artistic director Susan Marie Rhea. Megan Machnik is executive chair of the theater's board of directors.

Caleen Sinnette Jennings is an American actor, director, and playwright. She is a professor of performing arts at American University College of Arts and Sciences. Jennings is the author of the plays "Queens Girl in the World" and "Queens Girl in Africa."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malinda Kathleen Reese</span> American internet personality, singer-songwriter and stage actress (born 1994)

Malinda Kathleen Reese is an American internet personality, singer-songwriter and stage actress. She is best known for her Irish music covers on Tiktok, as well as Twisted Translations on YouTube, in which she previously created songs and performances from song lyrics and other texts that have been translated through multiple languages and back into English using Google Translate; in that guise, she has over one million subscribers. Currently, she releases original music and vlogs on her main channel, MALINDA. Her debut is a 2018 EP, Love Letter. In addition, she has performed in numerous theatre plays in the Washington, D.C., area, including playing Girl in the musical Once, for which she won a Helen Hayes Award in 2020.

References

  1. "Source Rental". Cultural D.C. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  2. "Helen Hayes Awards: The John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  3. Jacobson, Louis (7 March 2012). "The D.C. theater scene". The Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  4. "Constellation Theatre announces 2024/25 season: 'Infinite Possibilities'". DC Theater Arts.
  5. "Constellation Theatre Company Announces 2019-2020 Season". DC Theater Arts. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  6. Treanor, Lorraine. "Latest DC area theatre cancellations due to COVID-19". DCTheatreScene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  7. Playtime for Grownups – 2015–2016 Season Mailing. Constellation Theatre Company. July 2015.
  8. Treanor, Lorraine (21 June 2007). "A Dream Play". DCtheatrescene.com. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  9. Pressley, Nelson (6 October 2007). "Constellation Sparkles In 'Arabian Nights'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  10. Horwitz, Jane (April 9, 2008). "Bertolt Brecht's Human Touch Constellation's 'Good Woman of Setzuan' Isn't About Isms". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  11. "AMERICAN THEATRE WING ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF 2013 NATIONAL THEATRE COMPANY GRANTS". StageLight Magazine. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  12. "American Theatre Wing Reveals Recipients of 2013 National Theatre Company Grants". broadwayworld.com. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  13. "Nominees & Recipients Database". Theatre Washington. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  14. Treanor, Loraine (2009-09-20). "Audience Choice Awards – 2008/09 Season". dctheatrescene.com. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  15. Treanor, Lorraine (2010-08-26). "Voting ends tonight for Audience Choice Awards". dctheatrescene. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  16. Treanor, Lorraine (2013-08-08). "Audience Choice Awards 2012–2013". DC Theatre Scene. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  17. "Theater Honoraria: Kendra Rai". pgfusa.com. Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Retrieved 21 August 2014.