Olney Theatre
Encyclopedia
Located just north of Washington, D.C.
in Montgomery County, Maryland
, the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts offers a diverse array of professional productions year-round that enrich, nurture and challenge a broad range of artists, audiences and students. One of two state theaters of Maryland, OTC is situated on 14 acres (56,656 m²) in the heart of the Washington-Baltimore
-Frederick
"triangle," within easy access of all three cities.
An award-winning regional theater, Olney Theatre Center is one of only two theaters in the country to operate under an Actors' Equity Association
Council of Stock Theaters (COST) contract.
In addition to its mainstage season, which emphasizes 20th-century American classics, new works, area premieres, reinterpretations of classics and musical theater, OTC offers a wide range of programs and affiliations including: National Players
, America's longest running classical touring company (since 1949), which performs for high school and college audiences in over 25 states; Potomac Theatre Project, which offers experimental and alternative plays that explore provocative and challenging human situations, ideas and visions; special school performances of mainstage shows; and post-show discussions.
1940 C. Y. Stephens, an owner of High's Dairy Store
s, purchases property and remodels to become better suited for theater.
1942 Under C. Y. Stephen’s ownership and Steve Cochran’s management, Olney Theatre opens for business. It closes two days later due to gasoline rationing.
1946 Olney Theater reopens under the joint management of Glenn Taylor, Redge Allen, and Evelyn Freyman. It presented summer theater where shows featured well-known stars such as Jessica Tandy
, Hume Cronyn
, Tallulah Bankhead
, and Helen Hayes
. The theater was a five-show summer stock theater
on the straw-hat circuit, along with 238 other theaters around the country.
1949 Players, Inc. (now known as National Players, OTC's touring company), is created by Father Gilbert V. Hartke
to bring live theater and educational programming to students and public audiences across the United States and overseas.
1952 C.Y. Stephens invites Father Hartke to come to Olney for a meeting where he is asked to take over the theater. The two negotiate and Father Hartke takes over management of the property under his nonprofit touring company’s umbrella. Stephens agrees not to charge Players, Inc. rent, and to reimburse them up to a $10,000 loss. Father Hartke then moved Players, Inc. to Olney to establish a summer theater.
1956 After losses in 1953 and 1954 (which Stephens underwrote), the decision is made to produce only five plays. In 1955, despite much critical success, Olney still sustains a loss of $3,495.61. Consequently, Father Hartke asks William H. Graham, Sr. to serve as Olney’s General Manager. His work, combined with the directorial talents of Robert Moore
, Leo Brady
, and Jim Waring draws large audiences, favorable reviews, and a profit of nearly $7,000 in 1956.
1960 After the production of Roshomon
(directed by Robert Moore), Stephens tells Father Hartke that he will give him the theater. Little by little, Stephens transfers all of the property’s stock to Players, a branch of which is now known as Olney Theatre Corporation. Father becomes the corporation’s president, a position he held for 33 years.
1978 Olney Theatre is recognized as the official State Summer Theater of Maryland.
1986 Father Hartke passes away. Maryland State Arts Council designated Olney a "major arts organization", making it the only arts institution outside of Baltimore to hold such status at the time. The theater produces five, three-week productions per season, primarily from May to September.
1991 Olney Theatre begins a capital campaign to match a $625,000 state grant. The money was to be used for much needed improvements to the facilities and to realize Father Hartke’s goal of operating year-round.
1993 Olney adds two shows to its season, now beginning production in April and ending around late October. A scene shop and a costume shop are added to the mainstage building. (Prior sets were built outside, and costumes were built on the Crawford House Porch.)
1994 Jim Petosa is appointed Artistic director of the newly renamed Olney Theatre Center. He renews emphasis on 20th century American classics, musical theater, new works, and area premieres.
1998-1999 Olney Theatre Center celebrates the 50th consecutive touring year of National Players
. During these 50 years, National Players reached 2,400,000 audience members, traveled 1,760,000 miles (including 10 overseas tours and five White House receptions) and gave over 6,000 performances.
Olney Theatre Center is now a year-round theater with a seven-show mainstage season.
1999 The Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab is built as the first step towards a new master campus plan.
2000 Olney Theatre Center begins a capital campaign for a $10.5 million expansion.
2003 The Kresge Foundation
awards Olney Theatre Center a Special Opportunities Initiative grant totaling $1 million.
2004 Olney Theatre Center acquires an additional 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) for its cultural campus.
2005 Olney Theatre Center opens its new amphitheater, the Root Family Stage at Will’s Place, finally giving a permanent home to its Summer Shakespeare
Festival. Olney Theatre Center holds the Grand Opening of its New Mainstage theater, a 429-seat facility with stadium seating and advanced technical capabilities.
2006 Olney Theatre Center expands its mainstage season to eight plays and introduces its New Play Initiative with the world premiere of In the Mood. Olney Theatre Center holds its first Gala Celebration in over 20 years.
2007 Olney Theatre Center adds a family entertainment series and reinforces its education initiative with the formation of Olney Theatre Institute.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts offers a diverse array of professional productions year-round that enrich, nurture and challenge a broad range of artists, audiences and students. One of two state theaters of Maryland, OTC is situated on 14 acres (56,656 m²) in the heart of the Washington-Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-Frederick
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
"triangle," within easy access of all three cities.
An award-winning regional theater, Olney Theatre Center is one of only two theaters in the country to operate under an Actors' Equity Association
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
Council of Stock Theaters (COST) contract.
In addition to its mainstage season, which emphasizes 20th-century American classics, new works, area premieres, reinterpretations of classics and musical theater, OTC offers a wide range of programs and affiliations including: National Players
National Players
The National Players is the longest-running classical touring company in the United States.- Classical Touring Company :After 63 consecutive seasons of touring, this acting company has given approximately 6,600 performances and workshops on plays by Shakespeare, O'Neill, Molière, Shaw, Kafka,...
, America's longest running classical touring company (since 1949), which performs for high school and college audiences in over 25 states; Potomac Theatre Project, which offers experimental and alternative plays that explore provocative and challenging human situations, ideas and visions; special school performances of mainstage shows; and post-show discussions.
History
1938 Olney Theatre is founded by Steve Cochran on the site of a former roller skating rink (in what was then rural Montgomery County).1940 C. Y. Stephens, an owner of High's Dairy Store
High's Dairy Store
High's Dairy Stores is a chain of convenience stores in Maryland and Delaware. It once had locations in Virginia, and Washington, D.C. as well, many of which have been converted to 7-Elevens. The company is based in Hanover, Maryland.- History :...
s, purchases property and remodels to become better suited for theater.
1942 Under C. Y. Stephen’s ownership and Steve Cochran’s management, Olney Theatre opens for business. It closes two days later due to gasoline rationing.
1946 Olney Theater reopens under the joint management of Glenn Taylor, Redge Allen, and Evelyn Freyman. It presented summer theater where shows featured well-known stars such as Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
, Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
, Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
, and Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
. The theater was a five-show summer stock theater
Summer stock theatre
Summer stock theatre is any theatre that presents stage productions only in the summer within the United States. The name combines both the seasonal time of year with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes...
on the straw-hat circuit, along with 238 other theaters around the country.
1949 Players, Inc. (now known as National Players, OTC's touring company), is created by Father Gilbert V. Hartke
Gilbert V. Hartke
Rev. Gilbert V. Hartke, O.P. was founder of The Catholic University of America’s Department of Speech and Drama, one of the first university drama programs in America...
to bring live theater and educational programming to students and public audiences across the United States and overseas.
1952 C.Y. Stephens invites Father Hartke to come to Olney for a meeting where he is asked to take over the theater. The two negotiate and Father Hartke takes over management of the property under his nonprofit touring company’s umbrella. Stephens agrees not to charge Players, Inc. rent, and to reimburse them up to a $10,000 loss. Father Hartke then moved Players, Inc. to Olney to establish a summer theater.
1956 After losses in 1953 and 1954 (which Stephens underwrote), the decision is made to produce only five plays. In 1955, despite much critical success, Olney still sustains a loss of $3,495.61. Consequently, Father Hartke asks William H. Graham, Sr. to serve as Olney’s General Manager. His work, combined with the directorial talents of Robert Moore
Robert Moore (director)
Robert Moore was an American stage, film and television director.-Biography:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Moore is best known for his direction of the ground-breaking play The Boys in the Band, his Broadway productions , and his collaborations - three plays and three films - with Neil Simon,...
, Leo Brady
Leo Brady
Leo Brady was a multidimensional American writer and theater artist who also achieved great success as a teacher of young playwrights....
, and Jim Waring draws large audiences, favorable reviews, and a profit of nearly $7,000 in 1956.
1960 After the production of Roshomon
Rashomon (play)
Though Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon is the most famous instance, Akutagawa's stories have also been adapted for the stage.- Source material :...
(directed by Robert Moore), Stephens tells Father Hartke that he will give him the theater. Little by little, Stephens transfers all of the property’s stock to Players, a branch of which is now known as Olney Theatre Corporation. Father becomes the corporation’s president, a position he held for 33 years.
1978 Olney Theatre is recognized as the official State Summer Theater of Maryland.
1986 Father Hartke passes away. Maryland State Arts Council designated Olney a "major arts organization", making it the only arts institution outside of Baltimore to hold such status at the time. The theater produces five, three-week productions per season, primarily from May to September.
1991 Olney Theatre begins a capital campaign to match a $625,000 state grant. The money was to be used for much needed improvements to the facilities and to realize Father Hartke’s goal of operating year-round.
1993 Olney adds two shows to its season, now beginning production in April and ending around late October. A scene shop and a costume shop are added to the mainstage building. (Prior sets were built outside, and costumes were built on the Crawford House Porch.)
1994 Jim Petosa is appointed Artistic director of the newly renamed Olney Theatre Center. He renews emphasis on 20th century American classics, musical theater, new works, and area premieres.
1998-1999 Olney Theatre Center celebrates the 50th consecutive touring year of National Players
National Players
The National Players is the longest-running classical touring company in the United States.- Classical Touring Company :After 63 consecutive seasons of touring, this acting company has given approximately 6,600 performances and workshops on plays by Shakespeare, O'Neill, Molière, Shaw, Kafka,...
. During these 50 years, National Players reached 2,400,000 audience members, traveled 1,760,000 miles (including 10 overseas tours and five White House receptions) and gave over 6,000 performances.
Olney Theatre Center is now a year-round theater with a seven-show mainstage season.
1999 The Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab is built as the first step towards a new master campus plan.
2000 Olney Theatre Center begins a capital campaign for a $10.5 million expansion.
2003 The Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is a U.S. philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan. The goals and aspirations of seven programs guide its grantmaking and investing. Those programs are Arts & Culture, Community Development, Detroit, Education, Environment, Health, and Human Services...
awards Olney Theatre Center a Special Opportunities Initiative grant totaling $1 million.
2004 Olney Theatre Center acquires an additional 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) for its cultural campus.
2005 Olney Theatre Center opens its new amphitheater, the Root Family Stage at Will’s Place, finally giving a permanent home to its Summer Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Festival. Olney Theatre Center holds the Grand Opening of its New Mainstage theater, a 429-seat facility with stadium seating and advanced technical capabilities.
2006 Olney Theatre Center expands its mainstage season to eight plays and introduces its New Play Initiative with the world premiere of In the Mood. Olney Theatre Center holds its first Gala Celebration in over 20 years.
2007 Olney Theatre Center adds a family entertainment series and reinforces its education initiative with the formation of Olney Theatre Institute.
External links
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/theaters/olney-theatre-center-for-the-arts,793803.html
- http://www.potomacstages.com/Olney.htm
- Olney Theatre website
- Washington Post article, August 10, 2008