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WSC Avant Bard
Avant Bard Theatre (commonly known as Avant Bard, and formerly known as WSC Avant Bard, Washington Shakespeare Company or simply WSC) is a small, professional, nonprofit theater based in Arlington, VA. The company was founded in 1990 under the name Washington Shakespeare Company; its name was changed to WSC Avant Bard in August 2011; its name was subsequently changed to Avant Bard Theatre in October 2017. Avant Bard focuses on producing "bold and experimental productions of classic and contemporary works".
Avant Bard began as an Arlington (County) Arts Incubator project in 1990, along with Signature Theatre, New Works Theatre, and Goosebump Theatre. The company's inaugural production, a sold-out run of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit in September 1990, was also the inaugural production in the Gunston Arts Center, a former junior high school library which had just been renovated as a performing arts center by the Arlington Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources.
The company performed in the Clark Street Playhouse, an abandoned warehouse converted into a black box theater, from 1995 until the end of the 2009–2010 season, when the building was scheduled for demolition to make way for development on the north end of Crystal City. (The demolition of the theater had been "imminent" as early as the 2005–2006 season, but the closure of the building was postponed from year to year.) In the fall of 2010, Avant Bard became the theater-in-residence in Arlington's Artisphere, the former site of the Newseum; however, the company was evicted in December, 2012, in the middle of the 2012–2013 season, when Artisphere decided to restructure the use of its facilities. Since then, the company has staged productions in a number of DC venues, including Theatre on the Run, managed by the Arlington (County) Cultural Affairs Division; the Callan Theatre on the campus of the Catholic University of America; and the Gilbert C. Eastman Studio Theatre on the campus of Gallaudet University.
Avant Bard has had four artistic directors. The first, Brian Hemmingsen, was artistic director from 1990 until 1996. Christopher Henley, who was also one of the founding members of the company, was artistic director from 1996 until February 2013. Tom Prewitt was artistic director from February 2013 until his passing in November 2020. The first play which Prewitt directed as artistic director was Pinter's No Man's Land, with Hemmingsen and Henley in the lead roles (Hirst and Spooner, respectively). In February 2021, Avant Bard formed a collaborative leadership team of five producing partners: Sara Barker, Megan Behm, Alyssa Sanders, DeMone Seraphin, and Dina Soltan. In August 2023, the collaborative leadership team changed to three producing partners: Sara Barker, Alyssa Sanders, and Kathleen Akerley. In August 2024, Sara Barker became Avant Bard's Artistic Director, Alyssa Sanders became Artistic Associate - Management, and Kathleen Akerley became Artistic Associate - Production & Education.
Over the course of several months in 2005, the company presented Bard-37: Our Canon Cabaret as a celebration of the company's fifteenth season. Each of Shakespeare's plays was given a reading, in chronological order. Portions of Hamlet were read in Klingon, the first of Avant Bard's forays into presenting Shakespeare "in the original language."
In July/August, 2005, Steven Scott Mazzola directed a production of Royal Hunt for the Sun, by Peter Shaffer.
In February, 2006, John Vreeke directed a production of Death and the King's Horseman, by Nigerian playwright and author Wole Soyinka.
In July, 2007, Jose Carrasquillo directed a version of Macbeth performed entirely in the nude. Critical reviews were mixed, but the production drew national attention: according to USA Today, the production drew some of the company's largest audiences, and the run was extended.
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WSC Avant Bard
Avant Bard Theatre (commonly known as Avant Bard, and formerly known as WSC Avant Bard, Washington Shakespeare Company or simply WSC) is a small, professional, nonprofit theater based in Arlington, VA. The company was founded in 1990 under the name Washington Shakespeare Company; its name was changed to WSC Avant Bard in August 2011; its name was subsequently changed to Avant Bard Theatre in October 2017. Avant Bard focuses on producing "bold and experimental productions of classic and contemporary works".
Avant Bard began as an Arlington (County) Arts Incubator project in 1990, along with Signature Theatre, New Works Theatre, and Goosebump Theatre. The company's inaugural production, a sold-out run of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit in September 1990, was also the inaugural production in the Gunston Arts Center, a former junior high school library which had just been renovated as a performing arts center by the Arlington Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources.
The company performed in the Clark Street Playhouse, an abandoned warehouse converted into a black box theater, from 1995 until the end of the 2009–2010 season, when the building was scheduled for demolition to make way for development on the north end of Crystal City. (The demolition of the theater had been "imminent" as early as the 2005–2006 season, but the closure of the building was postponed from year to year.) In the fall of 2010, Avant Bard became the theater-in-residence in Arlington's Artisphere, the former site of the Newseum; however, the company was evicted in December, 2012, in the middle of the 2012–2013 season, when Artisphere decided to restructure the use of its facilities. Since then, the company has staged productions in a number of DC venues, including Theatre on the Run, managed by the Arlington (County) Cultural Affairs Division; the Callan Theatre on the campus of the Catholic University of America; and the Gilbert C. Eastman Studio Theatre on the campus of Gallaudet University.
Avant Bard has had four artistic directors. The first, Brian Hemmingsen, was artistic director from 1990 until 1996. Christopher Henley, who was also one of the founding members of the company, was artistic director from 1996 until February 2013. Tom Prewitt was artistic director from February 2013 until his passing in November 2020. The first play which Prewitt directed as artistic director was Pinter's No Man's Land, with Hemmingsen and Henley in the lead roles (Hirst and Spooner, respectively). In February 2021, Avant Bard formed a collaborative leadership team of five producing partners: Sara Barker, Megan Behm, Alyssa Sanders, DeMone Seraphin, and Dina Soltan. In August 2023, the collaborative leadership team changed to three producing partners: Sara Barker, Alyssa Sanders, and Kathleen Akerley. In August 2024, Sara Barker became Avant Bard's Artistic Director, Alyssa Sanders became Artistic Associate - Management, and Kathleen Akerley became Artistic Associate - Production & Education.
Over the course of several months in 2005, the company presented Bard-37: Our Canon Cabaret as a celebration of the company's fifteenth season. Each of Shakespeare's plays was given a reading, in chronological order. Portions of Hamlet were read in Klingon, the first of Avant Bard's forays into presenting Shakespeare "in the original language."
In July/August, 2005, Steven Scott Mazzola directed a production of Royal Hunt for the Sun, by Peter Shaffer.
In February, 2006, John Vreeke directed a production of Death and the King's Horseman, by Nigerian playwright and author Wole Soyinka.
In July, 2007, Jose Carrasquillo directed a version of Macbeth performed entirely in the nude. Critical reviews were mixed, but the production drew national attention: according to USA Today, the production drew some of the company's largest audiences, and the run was extended.