Olney Theatre Center National Players Hiatus To Extend

Olney Theatre Center is extending the hiatus of the National Players through 2026. Planned improvements to the Olney Theatre campus, including the 1938 Original Theatre and its adjoining production areas, means the facilities to house and rehearse the Players will be offline until completed. In a letter to Player alumni, Olney Theatre's Artistic Director, Jason Loewith wrote:

 

This gives us an opportunity to reevaluate and redesign the National Players for the next chapter of its history. The feedback we've heard from recent alumni is clear: the way the Tour has historically been produced is neither as helpful to them as early-career artists, nor as rewarding as it may have been in the past. And, as with theater nationwide, the demand for the kind of Players productions we've been producing has gradually dropped over the past decade. Internally we've got lots of ideas about what the National Players will be when we reopen…”

 

Loewith has invited all Player alumni to a virtual town hall to be held this October to discuss what's needed in the field for early-career artists, which communities are most important for National Players to serve, and how it's best to do that. Any National Players alumni who did not receive the invitation are encouraged to contact info@nationalplayers.org

 

Established in 1949 and based at Olney Theatre Center since 1952, National Players is America's longest-running touring company. Founded on the principle of prioritizing areas with limited access to theatre, National Players company consists of 10 early-career theatre artists who spend 10 months touring the United States with their two-to-three-play repertory to a variety of diverse populations and venues from performing arts centers, universities, but also public schools, rural community centers, and penitentiaries. National Players also acts as an educational ambassador, teaching theatre-related courses to students of all ages and backgrounds. Though it travels thousands of miles and serves tens of thousands of people each year, National Players always comes home to Olney, Maryland. www.nationalplayers.org.