Featured Member Project

Featured Member

The new Sidney Harman Hall. Photo by Tom Arban

At the same time that arts organizations across the country are building gleaming, new performing arts centers like the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, FL, and the Orange County Performing Artscenter in Costa Mesa, CA, many others are not so lucky. Nonprofit arts groups in the same communities still clamor for performance space, rehearsal locations, and meeting places. With its growing wealth in recent years, Washington, DC, has had the good fortune of building nine new, soaring performing arts palaces in as many years. So when the Shakespeare Theatre Company set out to build its second home, the impressive Sidney Harman Hall, and transform the company into a national destination, they didn't lose sight of their fellow arts groups. The new Harman Hall joins the Company's original Lansburgh Theatre to create the Harman Center for the Arts. The company has made both the Lansburgh Theatre and Harman Hall available as affordable, downtown arts venues for other arts organizations.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company sensed a need among local and national performing arts organizations for high-quality venues that they could afford in an otherwise expensive city. In building the Harman Center, they collaborated with these artistic partners, hoping to create new perceptions, uphold high standards, and encourage innovation and creativity. For the 2007–2008 season, the Harman Center will feature more than 200 performances by outside groups including the Washington Bach Consort, Capital Fringe Festival, CityDance Ensemble, Dance Place, The Summer Opera Theatre Company, Washington Ballet, and Washington Performing Arts Society.

Not only does this collaborative approach bring benefits to the Washington arts community, the Shakespeare Theatre Company finds it rewarding as well. In addition to the income from rentals, there is the potential for a wonderful cross-fertilization between disciplines. Having the sister arts of music and dance present in the space creates a dialogue, allowing for both artists and audiences to make new connections.