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Best Directors In The Local Theater Scene In Baltimore

Baltimore is not only known for the Inner Harbor, Fort McHenry, crabs, the Orioles and Ravens, it is also known for theater. From early in the 20th century, theater has left its mark on the city and nation. Strand Theatre, the Everyman Theatre, Center Stage and the Hippodrome Theatre are synonymous with acting excellence, quality productions and some of the best theater directors in the country.
Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director of Center Stage
credit:centerstage.org

Kwame Kwei-Armah – Beneatha's Place
Pearlstone Theater
Center Stage

700 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, Md. 21202
(410) 986-4000
www.centerstage.org

Dates: May 8 to June 9

Award-winning British actor, director, playwright and broadcaster, Kwame Kwei-Armah, artistic director at Center Stage, directed The Whipping Man and An Enemy of the People in 2012. As part of its 50th anniversary season, Center Stage is presenting The Raisin Cycle, supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Works grant and the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award. Kwei-Armah, who was named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth last June, created and wrote Beneatha's Place as a conversation with the 2011 Pulitzer-and Tony-winning play Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, and as a response to A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. A hybrid project, The Raisin Cycle is being presented in a rotating repertory of Clybourne Park and Kwei-Armah's world premiere of Beneatha's Place, which focuses on the journey of a woman into the academic world where she faces affirmative action, identity and the political realities of race, ethnicity and gender in America.

Related: 2013 Baltimore Spring Theater Preview

Rain Pryor
credit: http://rainpryor.com

Rain Pryor – Colorism
Strand Theatre
1823 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, Md. 21201
(443) 874-4917
www.strand-theater.org

Dates: April 18 to May 4

The name Rain Pryor may ring a bell. The artistic director of the Strand Theater, Pryor is the daughter of the late comedian Richard Pryor. Well-known for her comedic solo performances, Pryor received rave reviews for Fried Chicken and Latkes, which provided audiences with a glimpse into her her life as the daughter of a famous father and a Jewish mother. In 2012, Pryor, a musician, producer, comedian, playwright and director, accepted her current position – at first, unpaid, with the Strand. In her upcoming solo performance of her original play, Colorism, Pryor delves into the issues of race within the African-American community and how its members view each other. The play explores the post-slavery mentality that lighter skin was preferable to dark. Told by three women of different color hues, the play reveals through dialogue, what they uncover, discover and discard.

Vincent M. Lancisi
credit:http://everymantheatre.org

Vincent M. Lancisi – The Beaux
Everyman Theatre
315 W. Fayette Street
Baltimore, Md. 21201
(410) 752-2208
www.everymantheatre.org

Dates: June 5 to 30

Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi founded Everyman Theatre in 1990. With a directorial history of more than 35 productions, ranging from All My Sons to Hedda Gabler, Lancisi has taught acting and directing at Towson University, the Howard Community College, University of Maryland and Catholic University of America. A member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Lancisi also is a board of director of Station North Arts and Entertainment Inc. This season, Lancisi is directing The Beaux' Stratagem, a play by George Farquhar, adapted from Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig. A comedic look at love, marriage and money, the play follows the journey of two young men who search village by village looking for wealth and women. Considered to be a Restoration comedy, it shares themes and perspectives with The School for Scandal.

Related: Best Spots For Dinner Theater In The Baltimore Area

Jeffrey B. Roth has won numerous state and national news and feature-writing awards during his career. A well-known crime writer, investigative reporter and a feature writer, Roth writes for a number of magazines and newspapers. Listed in the Locus Index of SciFi and Fantasy authors, Roth is the author of a number of published short stories and poetry. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

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