CENTERSTAGE & Baltimore Open Theatre to Host Shows at Liam's, 4/22 & 5/14

CENTERSTAGE and Baltimore Open Theatre are joining forces and creating a platform for Baltimore performing artists to showcase, workshop, and explore new artistic ideas-beer in hand. These events will be hosted at Liam Flynn's Ale House, 22 W. North Avenue, and are free and open to the public.

On April 22, at 7 pm, UnSaddestFactory presents a reading of A Day By Yourself by Lola Pierson, which follows two women as they formulate the often arbitrary boundaries between secrets, sentimentality, and intimacy. Based on actual events in the lives of the actors in the show, A Day By Yourself explores what it means to be present in one's own life. Probably you will cry, but only if you've ever made a terrible decision. This exciting new play features Sophie Hinderberger, Naomi Kline, Cricket Arrison, Sarah Lloyd, and Jessie Hughes.

The UnSaddestFactory is a DIY (do-it-yourself) theater company that blends puppetry, performance art, writing, and studio art into magnificent creations. USF consists of Lola Pierson, Anna Fitzgerald, Cricket Arrison, and Sarah Lloyd, and has been proudly producing The Annual Ten Minute Play Festival for the past four years.

On May 14, at 7 pm, VTDance/Vincent E. Thomas presents Table Talk: On Masculinity, in preparation for the continued work on Shadows-the newest dance theater work by VTDance, whichexplores essences of masculinity through shadows of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. A Table Talk is a workshop where participants discuss a hot topic, engaging in verbal dialogue and exploring physical dialogue. Participants discuss, listen, and speak their personal truths about the given topic while maintaining an environment of mutual respect and inquiry.

The State Theater of Maryland, CENTERSTAGE just announced its 50th Anniversary Season. The not-for-profit company serves as a local hub and national leader for smart, provocative, and entertaining theater and as a catalyst for conversation with the community. Each year, a consistently broad range of productions in two intimate performing spaces attracts highly diverse audiences of more than 100,000 people-including more than 8,000 fiercely loyal members, many of whom have been with the theater during its entire history. Additionally, CENTERSTAGE offers a variety of dramaturgical, community, and educational programs to broaden access and enhance the theatergoing experience.

Baltimore Open Theatre provides a space for the audiences and artists of today to grow into the audiences and artists of the next generation of American Theatre. Founded by Philip Arnoult and Buck Jabaily, Baltimore Open Theatre hosts new, surprising, and challenging theatre and dance from around the world, the United States, and Baltimore. It's free, everyone is invited, and performances will be all over Baltimore. Baltimore Open Theatre develops a platform for exchange and investigation around each work of art, digitally and in person, before and after every performance. Performances begin September 2012.