Olney Theatre Center's 'Streaming Saturday' Will Bring Season Announcement, Panel Discussion, And More

Tomorrow is the pinnacle of a busy week of online activity for Olney Theatre Center. On Saturday, April 4 at 11:00 am, the Montgomery County, MD-based regional theatre will livestream on its Facebook and YouTube pages the announcement of its 2020-2021 season. Later that afternoon, at 5:00 pm, it will stream through the same channels, a live panel discussion moderated by Peter Marks, the chief theatre critic for The Washington Post on "The Arts After the Crisis." Meanwhile, Olney Theatre's production of The Amateurs by Jordan Harrison, a dark comedy about the bubonic plague, continues streaming on Vimeo until the end of the weekend. This follows a week in which OTC also offered nearly 40 hours of free, online classes for learners of all ages via Zoom and re-launched a digital storytelling project.

Season Announcement

On Saturday, April 4 at 11:00 am, Olney Theatre will announce its 2020-21 Season in an event live streamed on its Facebook and YouTube pages. Hosted by Artistic Director, Jason Loewith and Managing Director, Debbie Ellinghaus, the forward-looking event reinforces the organization's determined faith in the future of regional theatre. Scheduled to appear on the livestream are Aaron Posner, who was in the midst of directing The Humans by Stephen Karam, when rehearsals were halted due to COVID-19; Marcia Milgrom Dodge, the Tony Award-nominee who directed OTC's Helen Hayes-nominated production of Once and has been a featured director on the Disney+ show "Encores"; Vincent Lancisi, the Artistic Director of Everyman Theatre in Baltimore; Raymond O. Caldwell, the artistic director of the Theatre Alliance; and Mason Alexander Park, who received a Helen Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical for his portrayal as the Emcee in Cabaret.

Panel Conversation

Later on Saturday, April 4, at 5:00 pm, OTC will also stream live to its Facebook and YouTube pages a panel conversation on Theatre After the Crisis. Hosted by Artistic Director Jason Loewith, and moderated by Peter Marks, chief theatre critic for The Washington Post. Other panelists will include Raymond O. Caldwell, Artistic Director of Theater Alliance, Maria Manuela Goyanes, Artistic Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and Ryan Rilette, Artistic Director of Round House Theatre. If the purpose of the theater is to make great reckonings in little rooms, the current crisis has deprived us of our reason for being. The panel will explore how we're adapting during the interregnum. What new ways of working will survive after the crisis and become part of our storytelling, educational and institutional arsenals? And how will this enforced crisis change the way our institutions operate in the future? How will this crisis change the DMV artistic community - its artists, its audiences, and its institutions? Audience questions will be taken via Facebook and YouTube comments.

The Amateurs cancellation

The Amateurs, which was originally scheduled to run through April 5, had the final 3 weeks of performances canceled due to the Executive Orders by Governor Larry Hogan banning public gatherings. Writing in The Washington Post, critic Celia Wren wrote in her review of The Amateurs, "Set amid a rampaging 14th-century plague, Jordan Harrison's "The Amateurs" might seem to gain topicality from the current coronavirus outbreak. But in truth, the insights in this smart comedy are evergreen, as the Olney Theatre Center production makes clear." $20 for a 24 hour rental ends Sunday, April 5 at midnight on Vimeo: vimeo.com/ondemand/otcamateurs

Online Classes

On Monday, April 8, Olney Theatre will continue its second week of offering 8 hours daily of free online classes for all ages via Zoom and taught by staff members, National Players and apprentices. Offerings include storytimes, crafting, playwriting, acting, movement and monologue coaching, play reading and much more. No pre-registration is required and the full schedule can be found at olneytheatre.org/online

Share Your Story

OTC has brought back the "Share Your Story" project that began during Miss You Like Hell, inviting people to record 3-minute stories online about what home means to them. Now we're asking, "How has the meaning of "home" changed during quarantine? What unique experience can you share that will make us laugh, surprise us with an unexpected twist or help us feel less alone?" A new story by actor Alan Wade premieres Friday, around mid-day. People are encouraged to share their stories at: olneytheatre.org/stories