Everyman Theatre, Baltimore's fastest growing Equity theatre, announces its plans to move to the historic Town Theatre, as part of the WestSide Development Project of Baltimore City. This move is made possible thanks to the very generous gift from Bank of America Community Development Corporation and The Harold A. Dawson Trust, who have donated the property to Everyman in exchange for our restoration of The Town as a performing arts venue.

Everyman Theatre Unveiled!

New Home, New Vision
The Town Theatre, located at 315 W. Fayette Street, presents an extraordinary opportunity to Everyman and Baltimore City via the generous community support. The Town Theatre offers a new artistic home within a developing artistic neighborhood, directly across the street from the Hippodrome Theatre. Renovations will offer facilities to support artistic and educational programs, as well as to grow and develop in future years. This grand old building, which has been unoccupied for the past 18 years, will require internal demolition along with new construction of a 250-seat theater and support facilities (rehearsal rooms, shops for artisans, and offices, as well as dedicated classroom space for learners of all ages). "Our new venue will still offer the intimacy that our audiences have come to love, plus additional space for future expansion of a second theatre in years to come," says Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi. "The new space allows designers and directors to heighten production values and gives us the freedom to explore programming and repertory choices that aren't possible in our current facility. The new location will increase our visibility to new audiences in Baltimore and the theatre community nationally."

The Scope of the Project
In 2007 Everyman Theatre's Board of Directors endorsed a capital campaign of $17.75 million to renovate the Town Theatre. Architects Cho Benn Holback Associates, Inc., Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc. of New York and London, and Henry Lewis Contractors have all been engaged, and the designs reveal an exciting new home for Everyman Theatre. This viable and exciting move for Everyman Theatre provides another anchor to the WestSide revitalization effort.

Everyman Theatre is a professional Equity theatre with a repertory company of artists from the Baltimore/Washington area, dedicated to presenting high quality plays that are accessible and affordable to everyone. Since its birth in 1990, all of the work seen on stage is designed and created locally. In support of its mission, the Theatre works with a resident company and other artists, offering five Mainstage plays and an Explore! Everyman series, hosting over 4,200 loyal subscribers and thousands of single ticket buyers annually. Education programs benefit Baltimore City public school students, providing much-needed free arts learning experiences to underserved schools.

Additionally, the Theatre conducts classes for various age groups, including adults, which help the public develop a deeper understanding of the dramatic arts and provide a forum for discussion and interaction. Moving to the Town will enable Everyman to expand its Mainstage and Explore! Everyman Series, and all of its educational offerings.

Why is Everyman Theatre's move necessary?
At its current leased location at 1727 N. Charles Street, Everyman has enjoyed great artistic success and recognition for its quality educational programming. The Theatre prides itself on solid fiscal management and a positive impact on the surrounding community, which has seen significant commercial and cultural revival since Everyman took up residence in July of 1994. At the time, the 1700 block of North Charles Street was eighty percent vacant; now the area is teeming with restaurants, a five-screen art movie theatre, and the block is alive with thriving businesses and cultural attractions. Everyman Theatre consistently plays to over 92% capacity with most performances being sold out – a success that has been nothing short of extraordinary in its current location. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? Why move?

The current facility is woefully inadequate for current and future needs. There is simply not enough space to continue producing quality theatre and to accommodate growing audiences, programs and staff. Financial projections estimate that Everyman Theatre will sell out to subscribers in three to four years; lack of single ticket availability will hinder cultivation of future audiences. Under the current scenario, ticket prices would have to increase dramatically to cover the rapidly growing costs of producing professional theatre, working against the Theatre's mission of presenting plays that are accessible and affordable to everyone.

The current location offers no rehearsal space, no costume shop, no classrooms, and a tiny scene shop. The performance space has low ceilings inadequate for effective lighting design. Columns on the stage inhibit set designs and columns in the audience preclude the expansion of seating. A lack of classroom space for education limits existing programs; currently only one portion of the program – the popular student matinee program – is housed inside the Theatre's walls.

Short-term lease situations do not create the stability needed for long range planning. For several years, the Board of Directors has searched for a new home for Everyman Theatre and would have remained in the current neighborhood, but there was no viable property to develop adequately into a theatre. "We are fortunate to have this terrific opportunity," said Everyman Theatre Board President Zelig Robinson. "With the donation of The Town Theatre we are able to remain in the city, and will become part of the West Side renaissance. The Bank of America Development Corporation, The Harold A. Dawson Trust, and Westside Renaissance have been great partners in this project and we look forward to working together to turn the Town into the reinvigorated Everyman."

A Historic Home
The Town Theatre holds a long, colorful history. The building, which opened in 1910, has held many names and iterations – including as "The Empire" and as "The Palace" – hosting a variety of acts. It opened as a vaudeville theatre and later hosted Yiddish theatre, boxing and bingo parties. Following its use as a burlesque theatre in 1937, the Town was converted to a parking garage in response to objections over the "indecency" of the performances. In 1947, Baltimore architects John Zink and Lucius R. White, Jr. remodeled the building into a 1,550-seat movie house, which it remained until its closing in 1990.

"This will be a place where we come of age," says Vincent Lancisi. "We'll have room to do our best work, room to grow, and we'll own it. We'll really be home."

For More Information
Please contact Lynda McClary, Capital Campaign Director, at 410.752.4049 or lmcclary@everymantheatre.org.