Arena Stage

Arena Stage
Map
Address1101 Sixth Street
Southwest, Washington, D.C.
United States
Coordinates38°52′38″N 77°01′13″W / 38.8772°N 77.0203°W / 38.8772; -77.0203
Public transitWaterfront station (Washington Metro) Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)
OperatorMolly Smith, Edgar Dobie
Genre(s)American Plays & Playwrights
Capacity1,392
Construction
Opened1950
Renovated2008–2010
Years active1950–present
Website
arenastage.org

Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C.[1] Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C.,[1][2][3][4] and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement.[5][6] Its theater complex was completed for the company in 2010; it is called The Mead Center for American Theater.

Since 1998 the theater's Artistic Director had been Molly Smith, who retired in July 2023.[7] The current Artistic Director is Hana S. Sharif.[1] The Executive Producer is Edgar Dobie.[8] It is the largest company in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights.[9] Arena Stage commissions and develops new plays through its Power Plays initiative.[10] The company serves an annual audience of more than 300,000.[7][11] Its productions have received numerous local and national awards, including the Tony Award for best regional theater[12] and over 600 Helen Hayes Awards.[13][11][14]

  1. ^ a b Editors, American Theatre (2022-06-11). "Molly Smith to Retire from Arena Stage". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2022-07-08. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ Levey, Bob (July 29, 2016). "Zelda Fichandler, Arena Stage co-founder and matriarch of regional-theater movement, dies at 91". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ lainw. "Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater". Dumbarton Oaks. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  6. ^ History, The Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre; Criticism (2020-08-04). "This Month in Theatre History". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  7. ^ a b News Desk (2022-06-11). "Molly Smith to retire from Arena Stage in 2023". DC Theater Arts. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  8. ^ Wild, Stephi. "Recipients Announced For The Inaugural Victor Shargai Leadership Award". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  9. ^ Goodman, Mike (31 July 2019). "Fiercely Imaginative: Arena Stage at Seventy". Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  10. ^ Jones, Kenneth (December 28, 2011). "Part of American Voices New Play Institute Will Exit DC's Arena and Enter Boston's Emerson College". Playbill.
  11. ^ a b Fierberg, Ruthie (August 22, 2019). "What Makes Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage One of the Most Impressive Historic Theatres in the Country". Playbill.
  12. ^ "Regional Theatre Tony". American Theatre Critics Association. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  13. ^ Editors, American Theatre (2019-05-15). "Arena Stage Tops the Helen Hayes Awards". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2022-07-14. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ "Arena Stage Receives 9 Helen Hayes Awards". The New York Times. 1991-05-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-18.