Forum Theatre was a non-profit theatre company based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Founded in 2004 as Forum Theatre and Dance, it worked out of the Warehouse Theatre, the H Street Playhouse and, in its final years, out of a black box theatre in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

. The company focused on plays that featured

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

and

theatricality "Theatricality" is the twentieth episode of the American television series ''Glee''. The episode was written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, and premiered on the Fox network on May 25, 2010. In "Theatricality", glee club member Tina C ...

. The company also aimed to host productions dealing with topics that lent themselves to post-show discussions, which the theatre hosted in the lobby. It was known for producing "new and recent plays at revolutionarily low prices," according to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. The Forum Theatre ceased operations on July 31, 2018.

History

Forum Theatre was founded in 2004 by Kelly Bartnik, Michael Dove, Paul Frydrychowski, and Mark Wright. Instead of using a single performance method, Forum would explore storytelling styles and artistic media. The founders had backgrounds in film, dance/movement, music, visual art, and theatre. The company also aimed to bring new or seldom-performed plays to Washington, using the shows to promote artistic expression and discussion. The company’s first productions were a collection of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

short plays and a movement and video piece called ''All Things Seen'', based on

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

's ''

No Exit ''No Exit'' (french: Huis clos, links=no, ) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play begins with three characters who find themselves waiting ...

''. The company performed at the Arena Stage in Washington, Warehouse Theater,

Church Street Theater Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, The University of Maryland, The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, and

Round House Theatre Round House Theatre is a nonprofit theater company based in Bethesda, Maryland. History Round House began life in 1970 as “Street ’70”, a program of the Montgomery County Department of Recreation that provided educational outreach in the ...

before taking up residence at the H Street Playhouse in northeast DC in June 2007. Its production history includes the world premieres of Israeli playwright Ami Dayan’s ''

UpShot A result (also called upshot) is the final consequence of a sequence of actions or events expressed qualitatively or quantitatively. Possible results include advantage, disadvantage, gain, injury, loss, value and victory. There may be a range of ...

'' and a new translation of ''

The Gas Heart ''The Gas Heart'' or ''The Gas-Operated Heart''Johanna Drucker, ''The Visible Word: Experimental Typography and Modern Art, 1909–1923'', University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London, 1994, p.223. (french: Le Cœur à gaz) is a French-language ...

'' commissioned by the company, along with the DC premieres of ''

Hamletmachine ''Hamletmachine'' (german: Die Hamletmaschine) is a postmodernist drama by German playwright and theatre director Heiner Müller. Written in 1977, the play is loosely based on ''Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare. The play originated in relation to ...

'',

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

's '' The Memorandum'', '' Kid-Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh'',

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

’s ''

The Skriker ''The Skriker'' is a 1994 play by Caryl Churchill that tells the story of an ancient fairy who, during the course of the play, transforms into a plethora of objects and people as it pursues Lily and Josie, two teenage mothers whom it befriends, ma ...

'', and Don DeLillo's '' Valparaiso''. In October 2006, Forum founded and produced (with the Irish-American arts organization Solas Nua) the DC Samuel Beckett Centenary Festival, to celebrate the writer’s work and impact on contemporary art. The festival, which took place in several DC venues, included two weeks of theatre productions, film screenings, panel discussions, academic symposia, book clubs, downloadable radio play

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

s, and the international touring production of '' Waiting for Godot'' by Ireland’s Gate Theatre. The festival was sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland, The University of Maryland, and the

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. For its 2007–08 season, the company produced Jean Anouilh's ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'', '' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot'' by Stephen Adly Guirgis, and

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...

by Peter Weiss. The group later launched a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

called "OpenForum". At one point, the group has 16 performers, technicians, and theater administrators, supported by a 13-member board. ''

'' noted that Forum was among the first theatres in the D.C. area to both pursue gender parity when selecting which playwrights they performed and to employ a "pay what you want" admission policy.

Production timeline through 2009

2004-2005 *Beckett: The Shorter Plays ('' Not I'', ''

Footfalls ''Footfalls'' is a play by Samuel Beckett. It was written in English, between 2 March and December 1975 and was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre as part of the Samuel Beckett Festival, on May 20, 1976 directed by Beckett himself. Bil ...

'', ''

Breath Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen. All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular ...

'', ''

Come and Go ''Come and Go'' is a short play (described as a "dramaticule" on its title page) by Samuel Beckett. It was written in English in January 1965 and first performed (in German) at the Schillertheater, Berlin on 14 January 1966. Its English language ...

'', ''

Krapp's Last Tape ''Krapp's Last Tape'' is a 1958 one-act play, in English, by Samuel Beckett. With a cast of one man, it was written for Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee (actor), Patrick Magee and first titled "Magee monologue". It was inspired by Beckett's e ...

'', ''

Rockaby ''Rockaby'' is a short one-woman play by Samuel Beckett. It was written in English in 1980, at the request of Daniel Labeille, who produced it on behalf of ''Programs in the Arts'', State University of New York, for a festival and symposium in ...

'', and ''

Catastrophe Catastrophe or catastrophic comes from the Greek κατά (''kata'') = down; στροφή (''strophē'') = turning ( el, καταστροφή). It may refer to: A general or specific event * Disaster, a devastating event * The Asia Minor Catastro ...

'') *''All Things Seen'' (based on

’s ''

'') *'' Everyman'' 2005-2006 *''

'' by Ami Dayan *''

'' by

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

(translated by Steven Perry) and ''

'' by

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdr ...

*'' The Memorandum'' by

2006-2007 * DC Beckett Centenary Festival *''

'' by

*'' Kid-Simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh'' by

Jordan Harrison Jordan Harrison (born 1977) is a playwright. He grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington. His play ''Marjorie Prime'' was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Biography Harrison received a B.A. from Stanford University in 1999 a ...

*'' Valparaiso'' by Don DeLillo 2007-2008 *''

'' by Jean Anouilh *'' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot'' by Stephen Adly Guirgis *''

'' by Peter Weiss 2008-2009 *''

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? ''Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?'' is a 2006 political play with eight scenes by Caryl Churchill. It addresses the application of power by the United States mostly since the Vietnam war. Critics' responses to the play are divided. Plot summary ...

'' by

*'' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot'' by Stephen Adly Guirgis *'' Marisol'' by José Rivera *'' dark play or stories for boys'' by

Carlos Murillo Carlos Murillo is an American playwright, director, and professor of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent. Based in Chicago, Murillo is a professor and head of the Playwriting program at the Theatre School at DePaul University. He is best known for ...

Company members

*Kelly Bartnik *Fiona Blackshaw *Austin Bragg *Patrick Bussink *Jenn Carlson *Michael Dove *Paul Frydrychowski *Maggie Glauber *Hannah Hessel *Brent Lowder *Rose McConnell *Laura Miller *Alexander Strain *Mark Jude Sullivan *Jesse Terrill *Mark Wright

Awards

The Forum Theatre received ten nominations for the Helen Hayes Award.

References

External Links

Official website
(archived 2016)

{{authority control Theatre companies in Washington, D.C. 2003 establishments in Washington, D.C. Arts organizations established in 2003

History

Production timeline through 2009

Company members

Awards

See also

References

External Links