Dear Members,
I hope you’re staying safe, healthy, and warm as this Baltimore winter finally starts to set in. As all of us here at Baltimore Center Stage look ahead to 2021, we’re so excited for what is to come—and not just because it means we get to leave the chaos of 2020 behind. This year has kept us on our toes, working to be nimble and resilient in order to stay open for storytelling while keeping our artists, artisans, and administrators safe and employed.
Back in June, we announced to you a season designed to respond to and evolve with our ever-changing landscape. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we have decided to pivot so that we can deliver this season to you all in the safest way, while also honoring the spirit of each production. With this in mind, I am writing with an update on our 2021 Mainstage Series.
We were planning to join together in person at the end of January for the world premiere of The Swindlers, followed by A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction, Our Town, and The Garden. Now, we are still delivering four productions, but have decided to adjust performance dates and reimagine the first productions of the season as virtual experiences. We will also have to postpone our production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town until we can safely gather in large numbers again and fully manifest the spirit of community collaboration. To fill out the Mainstage Series, we’re excited to be adding a fourth play to the lineup—stay tuned for an announcement in 2021! For the remaining productions, we are working closely with playwrights Noah Diaz, Miranda Rose Hall, and Charlayne Woodard on how best to serve their plays this Spring. These artists are responding to this moment with joy, abundance, and integrity, and we can’t wait to share their work with you. Additionally, all Mainstage Series shows will be filmed and streamed online for anyone who would rather enjoy theater from the comfort of their own homes this season.
Although this season may feel a little different, we are doing exactly what we’ve always done: create art that responds to the current moment and meets audiences where they are- even if that means bringing our work into your homes. Each of these offerings brings us the chance to experience theater in new and unexpected ways; we will be carrying those lessons forward even as we look beyond the pandemic.
Before I close out this letter, I want to extend a sincere and heartfelt thanks to each of you, our members, who are sticking it out with us through this uncertain year. It is your support that is allowing us to keep our staff and artists employed and doing what they do best: activating our collective imaginations in order to survive tough times.
You will receive more information about your tickets and performance dates in January. For more information in the meantime, please visit the COVID response page on our website, email boxoffice@centerstage.org, or call the Box Office at 410-332-0033.
Wishing you a happy holiday season,
Stephanie Ybarra
Artistic Director
One of the most visible pillars of our artistic programming is our Mainstage Series, replete with kaleidoscopic storytelling at the leading edge of theatermaking. In 2020/21, we will feature a four play series with the necessary health and safety protocols to help keep our artists and audiences safe. With a focus on deepening our relationship to artists, we’ve chosen to prioritize supporting living playwrights next season – the return of Noah Diaz with a world premiere BCS commission, Baltimore’s beloved Miranda Rose Hall, and the incomparable Tony Award®-nominee Charlayne Woodard. We are working to offer each of our MainStage shows virtually, stay tuned for more updates.
A Baltimore Center Stage season has always included more than just the plays we produce. In 2020/21, we’ll continue to expand our programming to provide as many access points as possible to BCS with dynamic virtual events beginning in August. With the return of our Baltimore Butterfly Sessions and special programs inspired by the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, our upcoming presidential election and more, Baltimore Center Stage will continue to create responsive programming to our rapidly changing world.
Theater has never been a fixed art form – for thousands of years it has been evolved and shifted thanks to the artists who pushed us all forward. Sophocles, Lorraine Hansberry, William Shakespeare, María Irene Fornés, Thornton Wilder, Amiri Baraka, and countless others have ensured constant change. Through online readings and discussions with leading theatermakers here in Baltimore and around the country, we’ll explore classic texts, reflect on the rich production history of BCS and dive deeper into the elusive artistic process.
BCS has a long history of supporting artists in the creation of new work, new stories, and new forms of theater. Through a revitalization of BCS’s commissioning program, Noah Diaz’s latest play The Swindlers: A True-ish Tall Tale, will premiere next season. In 2020/21, our commissioned artists feature: visual artist Suzanne Coley, who created original artwork for our Mainstage Series; playwright R. Eric Thomas, as well as playwright and performer Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi. Both Eric and Lady Dane are Baltimore-born and received commissions for new plays centering the city of Baltimore.
Learning is core to who we are at Baltimore Center Stage. In 2020/21 we remain committed to serving young people by facilitating learning and creativity through virtual student matinees, online residencies and our Young Playwrights Festival. Importantly, we remain in close communication with school partners and caregivers, taking our cues from those most impacted by this work to understand how best to support students throughout the school year. For more information about our Learning programs, email education@centerstage.org.
It is said our arts institutions are among the most progressive environments one could imagine, and yet… Theater is not immune from the rampant racism and anti-Blackness surrounding us today. On May 30th, like so many others, we made a statement in solidarity with our Black community. And today we renew that promise to keep antiracism and anti-oppression at the forefront of our minds even after the headlines have faded. Our journey on this path began decades ago and will continue for decades to come – we’re in this for the long haul. In the coming weeks we’ll publicly announce an update on our previous commitments along with specific adjustments in our artistic processes to create more humane and equitable working conditions.
As a team, BCS is proud to have continuously adapted to the global pandemic – not only in our programming, but also in our service to the healthcare workers in our community. We are choosing to proceed with cautious optimism and a robust list of proactive and responsive adjustments for next season. Over the next several months we’ll work internally and in collaboration with our artists’ unions to ensure a safe environment for audiences and artists alike.