Maryland State Theater - Center Stage

Center Stage
700 North Calvert St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 332-0033
e-mail: info@centerstage.org
World Wide Web: http://www.centerstage.org
Center Stage, Baltimore, Maryland.
Photo by Richard Anderson, courtesy of Center Stage.

In 1978, Center Stage was named the State Theater of Maryland (Chapter 1003, Acts of 1978; Code State Government Article, sec. 13-309). It is a nonprofit resident professional theater. (Resident theaters invite artists who perform or design constumes and sets for their productions to live in theater-provided housing for the duration of their performance schedules.) One of approximately 70 resident theaters nationwide, Center Stage has an annual operating budget of about $5.4 million and employs some 100 artists and administrators year-round.

Center Stage offers a six-play season of classics, music theater, and new works. More than 110,000 people a year attend. Productions are performed on one of two stages (the larger seats 541 persons) whose sets and props are made in Center Stage's own shops. Examples of the 1998-99 season lineup include As You Like It, by William Shakespeare; Jitney, by August Wilson; and Mrs. Warren's Profession, by George Bernard Shaw.

Located in downtown Baltimore, Center Stage was founded in 1963. A devastating fire, in 1974, destroyed the original theater at 11 East North Avenue. Center Stage rebounded from the destruction by acquiring and partially renovating an old building once part of Loyola College. There, at its present location, the theater reopened its regular season in 1975.

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