Baltimore is a city of neighborhoods. Little pockets of culture and diversity, where ethnic groups converge, stereotypes collide, and around every corner is a chance to bump into someone you know. It’s “Small-timore,” as many affectionately call it.
And within these pockets are actors, directors, playwrights, stage hands and producers, who working furiously and tirelessly to provide the city with the best in local theater.
For example:
- The Arena Players in West Baltimore is the nation’s oldest continuously operating black theater (since 1953).
- Rep Stage in Columbia is the only professional equity theater-in-residence at a community college in the United States.
- The Vagabond Players, located in Fells Point, recently celebrated its 93rd anniversary, making it one of the country’s oldest continuously operating little theaters.
People pour into venues like The Hippodrome and the Lyric Opera House for short runs of top quality national theater. But it’s the smaller theater houses — like Centerstage, the Fells Point Corner Theatre and the Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre — that are the heart and soul of Baltimore’s theater scene, offering quality stage performances with first-rate talent.
Lending a hand
The Baltimore Theatre Alliance is a local theater’s best friend. A nonprofit organization, BTA formed about 13 years ago. At the time, many theaters in Baltimore existed on their own, struggling to attract and retain audiences. Theaters needed a central organization that would serve as a conduit within the community, providing resources and cooperative marketing.
“Our mission from the beginning was to support and promote theater in the Baltimore area, and that’s still our mission today,” said Elaina Telitsina, BTA’s executive director. “Our goal has always been to develop audiences and expand them beyond the standard theater community, to let the general public know how much wonderful theater we have in town.”
The BTA works both on and off the stage — publishing a weekly industry newsletter about local opportunities, holding annual open area-wide auditions for local artists and organizations, listing performance dates and hosting professional workshops open to the public.
Telitsina knows the struggle of local theater firsthand — she is an actress, first and foremost. While she received most of her training in New York, her foray into theater started in Baltimore, where she has participated in several small stage productions.
“What a great variety of theater we have here. There really is something for every taste, age and demographic,” Telitsina said.
The BTA’s constituency is just as diverse, consisting of more than 70 theater organizations that range from community to educational to semi-professional to professional to equity theater.
“It’s everyone’s job who is in the position to promote theater to help nurture what we have here [in Baltimore],” Telitsina said. “We have a truly vibrant theater community. The theaters that form here usually stay here and create this affection for local audiences. They are truly for the people.”
A new direction
Newcomers like Debbie Chinn, Centerstage’s new managing director, see the potential in Baltimore perhaps better than anyone. Chinn lived in the San Francisco Bay area for the past 25 years, holding leadership positions at the California Shakespeare Theater, the San Francisco Symphony, the University of San Francisco, the Center Theatre Group of the Music Center of Los Angeles and the American Conservatory Theater.
“Baltimore is a city that impressed me with its vitality, its commitment to the arts, its commitment to improving the educational landscape,” she said. “It has forward thinking. I really fell in love with Baltimore when I came here.”
Chinn’s goals in her new position include continuous promotion of Centerstage’s main stage productions and increasing arts education for young students.
“The work that we do is incredibly vital,” she said. “Those in this profession consider it a calling. It’s a very important piece of work that we’re doing to fill a void in society. We need to put arts education back in schools. Through our education programs and by making our work accessible, we hope that learners of all ages will discover an appetite to learn more about the world in which they live.”
Chinn says she’s intrigued by the fact that Baltimore seems a little secret. “It’s kind of in the shadows of Washington and Philadelphia,” she said. “You don’t hear a lot of people talking about Baltimore as a destination place. I think there’s an opportunity to change that. I want to put Baltimore on the map, nationally, in terms of the place to come for great art.”
The drama of college life
Many aspiring actors gain experience going from audition to audition or by moving to New York or California, others decide to take a more structured route, enrolling in college classes in order to earn their degree.
“College theater in general often plays a role in some communities as being the only live theater in a given geographical area,” said Elizabeth Van den Berg, theater director for McDaniel College in Westminster. “Some even develop subscription series for members in the community.”
Several local colleges offer diverse courses, often taught by professional actors, playwrights and directors. Michael Stebbins, artistic director for Rep Stage at Howard Community College, has been acting since he was 17. “College theater has a great impact, especially on those who are theater students at a college. If the program is good and the student is good, well, these are our actors of tomorrow — the next generation,” he said. “Good training is essential for the actor. The proof is in the work, the training.”
And just because an actor is cracking the books doesn’t mean he isn’t getting the experience others receive by pounding the pavement.
“As a training ground for tomorrow’s artists, college theater supports professional theater in many ways,” Van den Berg said. “Several of our students serve as interns backstage and in the administrative offices of many of the local theaters.”
Additionally, the Baltimore School for the Arts in Baltimore has proven to be a valuable stepping-stone not just for actors, but also for musicians and artists. The public high school has seen celebrities such as Jada Pinkett Smith, Tracie Thoms, Tupac Shakur and Christian Siriano walk its halls.
Baltimore’s standing ovation
No one can question the dedication that local performers and playwrights have to their work, which most likely is why Baltimore is so successful in promoting up-and-coming companies and plays.
“There’s a lot of support in the community for people to start new ventures,” Telitsina said. “The other thing Baltimore is good for is trying to bring new works to the stage, whether it’s something that has been developed by a local playwright or a classic.”
A prime example is the annual Baltimore Playwright’s Festival, a nonprofit organization that strives to encourage lesser-known local and regional playwrights. Since the first BPF in 1982, more than 200 original plays have been produced, and nearly 140 playwrights and 18 theaters have participated.
Another advantage that Baltimore provides to the struggling artist is a plethora of venues in which to perform. “Baltimore has a range of theaters, [and] there is also the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival and its outdoor summer offerings,” Stebbins said. “This is not something that every city offers.”
“Our challenge has always been audience development and truly attracting the general community in the greater Baltimore area,” Telitsina said. “We have this closed circle of patrons who love theater and always attend. But we still feel there are so many people out there who are still unaware of the great theater.”
Area theater at its best
If your theater is not listed below, please e-mail Emily Campbell at [email protected] with the name of the theater and its Web site, and it will be included in our online list at www.baltimoreexaminer.com. For theater-goers, visit us online for theater showtimes and general information.
AACC Performing Arts Department
Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre
Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre
Baltimore Improv Group
Baltimore Opera Company
Baltimore School for the Arts
Baltimore Shakespeare Festival
Bay Theatre Company
Centerstage
Chesapeake Arts Center
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
Cockpit-in-Court at CCBC
Colonial Players
Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts
Dignity Players
Dundalk Community Theatre
Everyman Theatre
Fells Point Corner Theatre
Gordon Center for Performing Arts
Goucher College Theatre Department
The Hippodrome Theatre
Liberty Showcase Theatre
Lorenzo’s Timonium Dinner Theatre
Lyric Opera House
Mobtown Players
Olney Theatre Center
Opera Vivente
Pasadena Theatre Company
Performance Workshop Theatre Company
Pumpkin Theatre
Red Branch Theatre Company
Reisterstown Theatre Project
Rep Stage/Howard Community College
Run of the Mill Theatre @ Theatre Project
Single Carrot Theatre
Spotlight UB
Standing O Productions
Strand Theatre Company
Theatre Hopkins
Theatre on the Hill, McDaniel College
Theatre Project
Toby’s Dinner Theatre (Baltimore/Columbia)
Towson University Department of Theatre Arts
UMBC Department of Theatre
Vagabond Players
Winters Lane Productions
