Formation | 1986 |
---|---|
Type | Theatre group |
Purpose | "...to present classic theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights' language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens". |
Location |
|
Artistic director(s) | Simon Godwin |
Website | http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/ |
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.
The company is a League of Resident Theatres member. Its current artistic director (since 2019) is Simon Godwin, who previously was based in London, serving as associate director of London's Royal National Theatre, associate director of the Royal Court Theatre and associate director at Bristol Old Vic.
The Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill includes a replica of an Elizabethan theatre, originally used for lectures and tours. In 1970 this space was transformed into a functioning playhouse, and soon Folger Theatre Group (later The Folger Theatre) was organized to perform. [1]
After years of discussion, Amherst College, administering body of the Folger Shakespeare Library, in 1986 withdrew financial support for the company. [2] [3] To save the company, concerned citizens led by R. Robert Linowes reincorporated it as the non-profit Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger, later hiring Michael Kahn as artistic director. [4] The company continued to perform at the Folger for the next six years. [1]
Changing its name to The Shakespeare Theatre, the troupe moved in 1992 to the Lansburgh Theatre (now, the Klein Theatre), a newly built space in the original Lansburgh's Department Store building in the Penn Quarter. At the start of the 2005–06 season, it adopted the current name, Shakespeare Theatre Company. The company constructed another theatre, Sidney Harman Hall, which opened in 2007 in the lower part of an office building in the quarter, and the two theatres were joined to become the Harman Center for the Arts. [5] [6] [7]
Meanwhile, after initially importing traveling shows from the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express the Folger Shakespeare Library developed a new Folger Theatre company to present plays in its Elizabethan replica.
STC has two current performance venues. The newer and larger Sidney Harman Hall occupies the lower half of an 11-story office tower. The exterior is distinguished by a glass façade curtain wall on a projected bay window. The 761-seat performance space can be configured as a proscenium, thrust, semi-arena, corridor or bare stage. [8] [9] The smaller Klein Theatre (formerly the Lansburgh Theatre) is in the restored former Lansburgh's Department Store flagship store, originally built in 1882. The performance space is a 451-seat classic proscenium stage. The seating arrangement is reminiscent of a Greek Amphitheater. It has been described as "an intimate space for dramatic theatre, ensemble music, and dance" [10]
In the past, the company has performed shows at the Terrace Theater in the Kennedy Center. [11]
In addition to its performance spaces, the company maintains administrative offices, rehearsal studios, and a costume shop in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. [12] [13] A set construction and painting shop is near Catholic University in Northeast D.C. [14] Finally a stage properties shop for the construction and storage of furniture, decorative items, hand props and a variety of set dressing items is located just outside D.C. on the northeast side of the city. [15]
The Shakespeare Theatre Company's self-professed mission is "...to present classic theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights' language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens". [16] Their vision is to "... endeavor to be an important resource to an expanded national and international community—as the nation’s premier destination for classic theatre, as a training ground for the next generation of theatre artists and as a model provider of high-quality educational content for students and scholars." [16]
Resident theatre company pioneer Zelda Fichandler has stated that for resident theatre companies "repertory is destiny" – a theatre company acquires its audience by the productions it presents. [23] Most of The Shakespeare Theatre Company's productions are from The Bard's canon. However each year up to half of the productions are classical works by other authors. The oldest has been Aeschylus's The Persians , the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre. [24] The youngest plays include works by Tennessee Williams ( Camino Real , Sweet Bird of Youth ) and Harold Pinter ( Old Times ). The company has also produced modern interpretations of classical texts such as Mary Zimmerman's Argonautika (adapted from The Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts ). [25]
In addition to its troupe of regular and frequently appearing actors, the Shakespeare Theatre Company invites guest performers and directors each season.
The Shakespeare Theatre Company commissioned playwright David Ives to translapt (translate and adapt) a series of rediscovered European comedy masterpieces, as follows:
All plays featured Ives's rhyming wordplay and were directed by Michael Kahn.
The Liar subsequently opened off-Broadway, again directed by Michael Kahn. [76]
In 1990 artistic director Michael Kahn and black director Harold Scott cast black actors as Iago and Emilia, the trusted ensign who incites the Moor's fatal jealousy and his wife. With Avery Brooks as Othello, Andre Braugher as Iago and Franchelle Stewart Dorn as Emilia, the resulting production was critically acclaimed. [77] [78] [79]
In 1997 the Shakespeare Theatre Company produced an Othello in which Othello was white with an otherwise all-black cast. Actor Patrick Stewart approached artistic director Michael Kahn with the concept: "I've been imagining myself playing Othello and, in a sense, preparing for it, since I was about 14. When the time came that I was old enough and experienced enough to do it, it was the same time that it no longer became acceptable for a white actor to put on blackface and pretend to be African. One of my hopes for this production is that it will continue to say what a conventional production of Othello would say about racism and prejudice... To replace the black outsider with a white man in a black society will, I hope, encourage a much broader view of the fundamentals of racism." [80] [81] Ron Canada performed the part of Iago. [45] During the Meet the Cast event before the production, Stewart remarked that he realized that while he had never performed this role, all of the principal male actors in the cast had. He would learn from them. [82] [ better source needed ]
After seeing The Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of The Oedipus Plays in September 2001, officials from the Greek Embassy in Washington arranged for an invitation to the company to perform it as part of the 2003 Athens Festival. The show was a single-evening adaption by Michael Kahn of Sophocles' three plays Oedipus Rex , Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone . He changed the setting from Greece to central Africa, and used an all-black cast headed by Avery Brooks. The performance was on 10–11 September 2003 in the semicircular 5,000-seat Odeon theater on the south slope of the Acropolis. As a historical footnote, the original production had just opened the week before the September 11 attacks. After a single performance cancellation that night, the show went on the next night (9/12) with a new meaning for cast and audience. The second Athens' performance was two years to the day after the attack. [83] [84]
The Shakespeare Theatre Company took its production of Love’s Labor’s Lost to England to participate in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival. Performances were from 17 to 26 August 2006 in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. [85] [86] [87]
From January through June 2007, The Shakespeare Theatre co-hosted the International Shakespeare in Washington Festival. This celebration was conceived by Michael Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center, and was curated by Michael Kahn. Over 60 arts organizations produced over 100 presentations. [88]
On 1 October 2007, Sidney Harman Hall opened with a gala performance emceed by Sam Waterston and featuring ballet dancers Nina Ananiashvili and Julio Bocca, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, actress Patti LuPone, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, The Washington Ballet, Washington Performing Arts Society’s (WPAS) Men and Women of the Gospel Mass Choir and actors from the Shakespeare Theatre Company. [89]
At the request of US Department of Defense officials and with support funding from private sources, the Shakespeare Theatre Company donated Harman Hall. It provided logistical support for two all-day special performances of the full cycle of The Great Game: Afghanistan . The 10–11 February 2011 performances were offered free to soldiers, wounded veterans and government officials in the Washington, D.C., area. [90] [91] [92]
The Shakespeare Theatre Company both presents and receives awards. Annually it presents The Will Award and The Emery Battis award. Additionally it regularly receives awards for its productions.
The William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre (The Will Award) has been presented by the Shakespeare Theatre Company since 1988. The Will Award is an annual honor to recognize an artist who has significantly contributed to classical theatre in America. [93] Since at least 2008 the award ceremony has been held under the patronage of the British Ambassador and his wife. [94]
Recipients: [93]
The Emery Battis Award for Acting Excellence is presented annually at the first opening night of the new season to recognize two actors whose work in a mainstage production demonstrates outstanding classical technique. The award is funded by an anonymous donor and includes a cash prize.[ citation needed ] It is named for the long time and beloved Shakespeare Theatre Company actor Emery Battis. [103] [104]
Award recipients include: [105] [106]
Actor | Production | Role | Season |
Adam Green | The Liar | Cliton (the valet) | 2009–2010 |
Michael Hayden | Richard II, Henry V | Richard II, Henry V | 2009–2010 |
Holly Twyford | Old Times | Anna | 2010–2011 |
Mark Nelson | The Merchant of Venice | Shylock | 2010–2011 |
Carson Elrod | The Heir Apparent | Crispin | 2011–2012 |
Steven Epp | The Servant of Two Masters | Truffaldino | 2011–2012 |
Diane D'Aquila | Coriolanus | Volumnia | 2012–2013 |
Patrick Page | Coriolanus | Coriolanus | 2012–2013 |
Bianca Amato | Private Lives | Amanda | 2013–2014 [107] |
Matthew Amendt | Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 | Prince Hal | 2013–2014 [107] |
Amber Iman | Man of La Mancha | Aldonza | 2014–2015 [108] |
Robert Stanton | The Critic & The Real Inspector Hound | Puff & Moon | 2015–2016 [109] |
Robyn Hurder | Kiss Me Kate | Bianca/Lois Lane | 2015–2016 [109] |
In 1991, the Shakespeare Theatre Company began its annual Free For All productions at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre in D.C.'s Rock Creek Park. Each summer the company remounts a production from the previous season. Until 2009, these productions were held at the outdoor Amphitheatre in Rock Creek Park. However, in 2009 the company moved the free performances downtown and indoors [115] For a complete list of the productions, see Shakespeare Theatre Company Free For All.
Works for the ReDiscovery Series are chosen by Artistic Director Michael Kahn and presented under the direction of Shakespeare Theatre artistic staff. Guest artists join members of the Shakespeare Theatre Company and the Washington theatrical community to investigate these great but lesser known plays of world literature. The readings occur at the Lansburgh on at least three Mondays throughout the year and are hosted by company member Ted van Griethuysen. Guest scholars, translators and adaptors involved with the evening's reading also frequently participate in the rehearsal, performance and occasional post-performance discussion when time permits. [116]
The Shakespeare Theatre Company and George Washington University offer a one-year intensive graduate program leading to a Master of Fine Arts degree. The curriculum focuses on the specific craft of acting Shakespeare and other classical texts. George Washington University provides accreditation for an MFA degree, resources and strong links to the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Library of Congress. [117] [118] The program has graduated over 100 actors who are now performing on stages in New York, Washington, D.C., and across the country. [119]
The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750) in Britain and Europe. The library was established by Henry Clay Folger in association with his wife, Emily Jordan Folger. It opened in 1932, two years after his death.
Avery Franklin Brooks is a retired American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and as Dr. Bob Sweeney in the Academy Award–nominated film American History X. Brooks has delivered a variety of other performances to a great deal of acclaim. He has been nominated for a Saturn Award and three NAACP Image Awards. Brooks has also been inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre and bestowed with the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre by the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
David Ives is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; The New York Times in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written dramatic plays, narrative stories, and screenplays, has adapted French 17th and 18th-century classical comedies, and adapted 33 musicals for New York City's Encores! series.
Penn Quarter is a historic neighborhood of Downtown Washington, D.C., located north of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Northwest D.C. Penn Quarter is roughly equivalent to the city's early downtown core near Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street NW, Penn Quarter is an entertainment and commercial hub, home to many museums, theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, art galleries and retail shops. Landmarks include the Capital One Arena, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Harman Center for the Arts, among others. The area is also home to a popular farmers market and several food, wine, art, and culture focused festivals.
Earle Hyman was an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his role on ThunderCats as the voice of Panthro and various other characters. He also appeared on The Cosby Show as Cliff's father, Russell Huxtable. Singer Phyllis Hyman was his cousin.
The Harman Center for the Arts is a complex consisting of the Michael R. Klein Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., US.
Michael Kahn CBE is an American theater director and drama educator. He was the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. from 1986 until his retirement in 2019. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006.
In 1991 the Shakespeare Theatre Company, under Artistic Director Michael Kahn, initiated its annual Free For All performances in Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park. Each year the Company performed a show free to the public, usually from a previous season. In 2009 the Free For All was moved indoors to Sidney Harman Hall, one of two theatres operated by STC in downtown D.C. This more accessible location allowed STC to perform rain or shine, offer matinees, maintain the artistic excellence of the production and increase the overall number of Free For All performances. Plans for future productions have been put on hold since the COVID pandemic began in 2020.
Ronald Ellis Canada is an American actor and producer, with a specialty in portraying judges and detectives. He is best known for One on One (2001–2004), The Shield (2003–2004), and Lone Star (1996).
John Patrick Page is an American actor, low bass singer, and playwright. He originated the roles of the Grinch in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (2006), Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2011), and Hades in Hadestown (2019–2022), the last of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
Jeffrey S. Carlson was an American Broadway, film, and television actor and singer, known for his role as the transgender character, Zoe Luper, on the long-running daytime soap opera All My Children.
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello. The character's origin is traced to the tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor.
Autumn Marie Hurlbert is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Hurlbert is best known as the runner-up on the reality competition series Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods. After taping the competition, Hurlbert served as a member of the Broadway cast in Legally Blonde: The Musical until its closing on Oct 19, 2008. She also understudied the parts of Elle and Margot on Broadway. Ultimately, Hurlbert did headline as Elle Woods in an October 2012 version of the production, directed by Denis Jones in North Carolina.
Synetic Theater is a non-profit physical theater company located in the Washington metropolitan area. It performs at the Crystal City Theatre in Crystal City in Arlington County, Virginia. Since its founding in 2001, its productions have received numerous awards.
Michael Hayden is an actor who has appeared both on the Broadway and West End stage, as well as on television. His best known role was Billy Bigelow in the stage musical, Carousel. He received both Laurence Olivier Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for his performance in the role.
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.
Rebecca Taichman is an American theatre director. In 2017, she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for Indecent.
Emery Battis was an American stage actor, author, and professor of history with an acting career that spanned almost 80 years. He was the author of an award-winning book about Anne Hutchinson entitled Saints and Sectaries: Anne Hutchinson and the Antinomian Controversy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
L. Peter Callender is an American director and actor. Since 2009, he has been the Artistic Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company. He was trained at The Juilliard School.
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