BSF Announces Gala To Celebrate New Stage In Hampden

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF) announces a fundraising gala to be held on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at their newly renovated theater space. The event will honor woodwright Thomas Brown and celebrate the completion of his one-of-a-kind Elizabethan playhouse in the heart of Hampden.

"This moment marks a rebirth for our company," says Managing Director Ann Turiano. "2020 will bring some wonderful milestones--our 50th production, our ninth year in Baltimore City, our sixth Original Shakespearean Pronunciation production--and 2019 has already brought us a record-breaking season. The gala will celebrate all of those accomplishments along with the inauguration of this world-class, handcrafted stage. It seems like the perfect time to announce our new mission statement and reveal what we have in store for the future."

During the evening, guests will enjoy carnivalesque delights--including sword swallowing, tarot reading, and caricatures--themed food and drink, and a silent auction. The event will culminate in the official renaming of the theater (currently known as The Great Hall) and will be followed by an afterparty with bawdy entertainment. Guests are encouraged to dress in their Elizabethan finest. BSF board member Justyne Paxton, a graduate of Towson University and current employee of Marriott International, will chair the event.

"Baltimore has proven that it loves BSF's fun, fast-paced style of performance, and the gala is an opportunity to acknowledge the great work our artists, audiences, and community have created together," adds Turiano, "and to give our supporters an inside view of our plans to become a national destination for people who love Shakespeare--and the people who love Shakespeare and just don't know it yet."

To learn more about Beguile The Time: A Gala to Benefit Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, or to register for the event, please visit http://www.baltimoreshakespearefactory.org/gala