Atlas Performing Arts Center
Encyclopedia
The Atlas Performing Arts Center is a multiple space performing arts
facility located on H Street Northeast in Washington, DC. Housed is a renovated Art Deco
movie house the facility is home to several arts organizations.
The Atlas Movie Theater was built in 1938, one of four movie houses on the then-bustling commercial corridor. The riots of 1968 devastated the area and many businesses and residents abandoned H Street for the suburbs. The area became neglected with many empty buildings. The Atlas closed for good in 1976.
In 2001 The Atlas Performing Arts Center purchased the building from the H Street Development Corporation. The structure was completely gutted and three adjacent buildings were combined under one roof to house the current Arts Center.
The nearly 60000 ft2 facility boasts one 260 seat proscenium theatre, one large flexible seat black box theatre and two smaller Lab Theatres. There are three dance studios, managed by Joy of Motion Dance Center. In the lower level there is a scene shop, seven dressing rooms, one green room
and office space
for the Atlas and its Resident Arts Partners.
To foster the artistic growth of professional and aspiring performing artists throughout the region
To energize the revitalization of H Street Northeast
To provide a unique community-centered venue for training and education in the performing arts and stagecraft
To create a new model for collaborative theatre management
The Arts Partners are companies who call the Atlas home. Some perform exclusively at the Atlas while others perform in venues around the city, and even the world.
Atlas Arts Partners
Joy of Motion Dance Center
Congressional Chorus
American Youth Chorus
Capital City Symphony
The Washington Savoyards
African Continuum Theatre Company
Step Afrika!
Theater Alliance
The In Series
Levine School of Music
Washington Performing Arts Society
Washington Chorus
Opera Lafayette
Dance Place
City at Peace
Tappers With Attitude
Tribute Productions
, Intersections: A New America Arts Festival. Under the direction of Artistic Director Mary Hall Surface, the goal of the festival was to bring artists from different disciplines, ages and cultural backgrounds together under one roof to celebrate and explore the areas to make new connections and break new ground.
Over 5000 people came to the Atlas of the three weekends of the festival, many of whom were new to the Atlas and to H Street. The Atlas plans to host Intersections again in 2011.
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
facility located on H Street Northeast in Washington, DC. Housed is a renovated Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
movie house the facility is home to several arts organizations.
The Atlas Movie Theater was built in 1938, one of four movie houses on the then-bustling commercial corridor. The riots of 1968 devastated the area and many businesses and residents abandoned H Street for the suburbs. The area became neglected with many empty buildings. The Atlas closed for good in 1976.
In 2001 The Atlas Performing Arts Center purchased the building from the H Street Development Corporation. The structure was completely gutted and three adjacent buildings were combined under one roof to house the current Arts Center.
The nearly 60000 ft2 facility boasts one 260 seat proscenium theatre, one large flexible seat black box theatre and two smaller Lab Theatres. There are three dance studios, managed by Joy of Motion Dance Center. In the lower level there is a scene shop, seven dressing rooms, one green room
Green room
In British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
and office space
Office Space
Office Space is a 1999 American comedy film satirizing work life in a typical 1990s software company. Written and directed by Mike Judge, it focuses on a handful of individuals fed up with their jobs portrayed by Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Diedrich...
for the Atlas and its Resident Arts Partners.
Mission statement
The mission of the Atlas Performing Arts Center is:To foster the artistic growth of professional and aspiring performing artists throughout the region
To energize the revitalization of H Street Northeast
To provide a unique community-centered venue for training and education in the performing arts and stagecraft
Stagecraft
Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...
To create a new model for collaborative theatre management
The Arts Partners are companies who call the Atlas home. Some perform exclusively at the Atlas while others perform in venues around the city, and even the world.
Atlas Arts Partners
Joy of Motion Dance Center
Congressional Chorus
American Youth Chorus
Capital City Symphony
Capital City Symphony
The Capital City Symphony is a community orchestra based in Washington, D.C. It is one of the founding arts partners in the Atlas Performing Arts Center, located in Northeast DC’s Atlas District....
The Washington Savoyards
African Continuum Theatre Company
Step Afrika!
Theater Alliance
The In Series
Levine School of Music
Levine School of Music
The Levine School of Music is a non-profit community music center serving the Greater Washington DC metropolitan area. Levine currently operates four campuses, in Northwest DC, Southwest DC, Strathmore MD, and Arlington VA...
Washington Performing Arts Society
Washington Chorus
Opera Lafayette
Opera Lafayette
Opera Lafayette is an is an opera company based in Washington, D.C. that produces French operas from the 17th and 18th Centuries. It was founded in 1995 by Ryan Brown and performs at the Kennedy Center, among other venues....
Dance Place
Dance Place
Dance Place is an arts organization in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C.. "The heart and home of Washington Dance," Dance Place aims to "transform lives through performing arts and creative education programs that inspire personal growth, professional success, physical...
City at Peace
Tappers With Attitude
Tribute Productions
Intersections
In the winter of 2010 the Atlas hosted its first arts festivalArts festival
An arts festival is a festival that focuses on the visual arts in all its forms, but which may also focus on or include other arts.Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions and are not to be confused with the commercial art fair. Artists participate in the most important of such festival...
, Intersections: A New America Arts Festival. Under the direction of Artistic Director Mary Hall Surface, the goal of the festival was to bring artists from different disciplines, ages and cultural backgrounds together under one roof to celebrate and explore the areas to make new connections and break new ground.
Over 5000 people came to the Atlas of the three weekends of the festival, many of whom were new to the Atlas and to H Street. The Atlas plans to host Intersections again in 2011.