WSC Avant Bard

Avant Bard began as an Arlington (County) Arts Incubator project in 1990, along with Signature Theatre, New Works Theatre, and Goosebump Theatre. The company's inaugural production, a sold-out run of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit in September 1990, was also the inaugural production in the Gunston Arts Center, a former junior high school library which had just been renovated as a performing arts center by the Arlington Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources.{{cite journal|last1=Claridge|first1=Jon Palmer|title=Incubator for New Voices|journal=American Theatre|date=September 1991|volume=8|issue=6|url=http://www.arlingtonarts.org/cultural-affairs/arts-incubator.aspx|accessdate=3 July 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Walker|first1=Angela|title=Dim the House Lights|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/11/08/dim-the-house-lights/302e5b83-2198-4d85-b384-c7001634ddcc/|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=3 July 2015}}

The company performed in the Clark Street Playhouse, an abandoned warehouse converted into a black box theater,{{cite web|last1=Mondello|first1=Bob|title=The Hen & Hem Show|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/28496/the-hen--hem-show|publisher=Washington City Paper|accessdate=3 March 2015}} from 1995 until the end of the 2009–2010 season,{{cite web|last1=Adams|first1=Mark Lee|title=ShowBizRadio: Washington Shakespeare Company Camille, A Tearjerker|url=http://washingtondc.showbizradio.com/2009/09/review-wsc-camille/|publisher=ShowBizRadio|accessdate=3 March 2015}} when the building was scheduled for demolition to make way for development on the north end of Crystal City. (The demolition of the theater had been "imminent" as early as the 2005–2006 season,{{cite web|last1=Hathaway|first1=Brad|title=Clark Street Gets Last Shakespeare Play|url=http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2006/apr/27/clark-street-gets-last-shakespeare-play/|publisher=Connection Newspapers|accessdate=3 March 2015}} but the closure of the building was postponed from year to year.) In the fall of 2010, Avant Bard became the theater-in-residence in Arlington's Artisphere, the former site of the Newseum; however, the company was evicted in December, 2012, in the middle of the 2012–2013 season, when Artisphere decided to restructure the use of its facilities.{{cite web|last1=Schweitzer|first1=Ally|title=Artisphere Boots WSC Avant Bard|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/theater/2012/12/27/artisphere-boots-wsc-avant-bard/|publisher=Washington City Paper|accessdate=3 March 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Marks|first1=Peter|title=Arena Stage's and WSC Avant Bard's troubles—Some bumps in road for local theater|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/arena-stages-and-wsc-avant-bards-troublessome-bumps-in-road-for-local-theater/2013/01/03/40faac72-54f4-11e2-89de-76c1c54b1418_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=3 March 2015}} Since then, the company has staged productions in a number of DC venues, including Theatre on the Run, managed by the Arlington (County) Cultural Affairs Division;{{cite web|title=Arlington Arts: Theatres|url=http://www.arlingtonarts.org/venues/theatres.aspx|publisher=ArlingtonArts|accessdate=3 March 2015}} the Callan Theatre on the campus of the Catholic University of America;{{cite web|last1=Catlin|first=Roger|title=Theatre Review: 'Caesar & Dada' by WSC Avant Bard at Catholic University Callan Theatre|url=http://www.mdtheatreguide.com/2013/07/theatre-review-caesar-dada-by-wsc-avant-bard-at-catholic-university-callan-theatre/|publisher=Maryland Theatre Guide|accessdate=3 March 2015}} and the Gilbert C. Eastman Studio Theatre on the campus of Gallaudet University.{{cite news|last1=Wren|first1=Celia|title='Visible Language' captures the historic dispute in D.C. over how to teach the deaf|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/visible-language-captures-the-historic-dispute-in-dc-over-how-to-teach-the-deaf/2014/10/22/ef61ce4c-588c-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=3 March 2015}}

Avant Bard has had four artistic directors. The first, Brian Hemmingsen, was artistic director from 1990 until 1996. Christopher Henley, who was also one of the founding members of the company, was artistic director from 1996 until February 2013. Tom Prewitt was artistic director from February 2013 until his passing in November 2020. The first play which Prewitt directed as artistic director was Pinter's No Man's Land, with Hemmingsen and Henley in the lead roles (Hirst and Spooner, respectively).{{cite news|last1=Pressley|first1=Nelson|title=WSC's 'No Man's Land': A rare show from three directors|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/wscs-no-mans-land-a-rare-show-from-three-directors/2013/04/25/fb11318c-ab5f-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=3 March 2015}} In February 2021, Avant Bard formed a collaborative leadership team of five producing partners: Sara Barker, Megan Behm, Alyssa Sanders, DeMone Seraphin, and Dina Soltan.{{Cite web|author=News Desk|date=2021-02-18|title=Avant Bard Theatre regroups with new leadership team|url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2021/02/18/avant-bard-theatre-regroups-with-new-leadership-team/|access-date=2021-08-20|website=DC Metro Theater Arts|language=en-US}} In August 2023, the collaborative leadership team changed to three producing partners: Sara Barker, Alyssa Sanders, and Kathleen Akerley. In August 2024, Sara Barker became Avant Bard's Artistic Director, Alyssa Sanders became Artistic Associate - Management, and Kathleen Akerley became Artistic Associate - Production & Education.

Over the course of several months in 2005, the company presented Bard-37: Our Canon Cabaret as a celebration of the company's fifteenth season. Each of Shakespeare's plays was given a reading, in chronological order. Portions of Hamlet were read in Klingon, the first of Avant Bard's forays into presenting Shakespeare "in the original language."{{cite web|last1=Murphy|first1=Theodore R.|title=Royal Theater|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB111049503410176476|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=3 March 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Going Out Guide|title=Bard-37: Our Canon Cabaret|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/performing-arts/bard-37-our-canon-cabaret,1107602.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701073124/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/performing-arts/bard-37-our-canon-cabaret,1107602.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=3 March 2015}}

In July/August, 2005, Steven Scott Mazzola directed a production of Royal Hunt for the Sun, by Peter Shaffer.{{cite web|last1=Ruff|first=Walter|title=Royal Hunt for the Sun|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2006/02/24/wsc-strikes-gold-at-clark-street/|publisher=DC Theatre Scene|accessdate=3 March 2015}}

In February, 2006, John Vreeke directed a production of Death and the King's Horseman, by Nigerian playwright and author Wole Soyinka.{{cite web|title='Horseman's' culture clash|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/feb/16/20060216-091235-6908r/?page=all|publisher=The Washington Times|accessdate=3 March 2015}}

In July, 2007, Jose Carrasquillo directed a version of Macbeth performed entirely in the nude. Critical reviews were mixed, but the production drew national attention: according to USA Today, the production drew some of the company's largest audiences, and the run was extended.{{cite web|title=Nude Macbeth Lures USA Today|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2007/07/18/nude-macbeth-lures-usa-today/|website=DC Theatre Scene|publisher=dctheatrescene.com}}{{cite web|last1=Barakat|first1=Matthew|title=MacDuff in the buff: Nude Shakespeare sells despite critics|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/theater/2007-07-07-macbeth_N.htm|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Wren|first1=Celia|title='Macbeth,' Naked But Not Exciting|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062102500.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=8 June 2015}}

In November, 2012, Tom Prewitt (shortly before being named artistic director) directed a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author, by Luigi Pirandello. The production featured Brian Hemmingsen, the company's founding director, in the role of the Father.{{cite web|last1=Ritzel|first1=Rebecca J.|title=A play that was meta before modernity|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/43496/six-characters-in-search-of-an-author-at-wsc-avant/|publisher=Washington City Paper|accessdate=8 June 2015}}

In October/November, 2014, Tom Prewitt directed the world premier of Visible Language, a musical with book and lyrics by Mary Resing, and music by Andy Welchel. Musical direction was by Elisa Rosman, and Aaron Kubey was Director of Artistic Sign Language.{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Ryan|title=Visible Language from WSC Avant Bard|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2014/10/27/visible-language-wsc-avant-bard/|publisher=DC Theatre Scene|accessdate=8 June 2015}} The production was co-produced by the Gallaudet University theater department, with a number of Gallaudet faculty and students in the cast. The performances took place in Gallaudet's Eastman Studio Theatre. The action interweaves three plot lines: the conflict between Edwin Miner Gallaudet and Alexander Graham Bell on the future of the education of the deaf; Gallaudet's efforts to get Congress to fund a Teacher's College at Kendall Green (which became Gallaudet University); and Bell's initial meeting with Helen Keller, whom he taught to speak using his Visible Speech method. The musical requires most of the cast to be bilingual (English and ASL), and the performances had surtitles throughout.{{cite web|last1=Burns|first1=Ellen|title=BWW Reviews: VISIBLE LANGUAGE from WSC Avant Bard & Gallaudet University|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/washington-dc/article/BWW-Reviews-VISIBLE-LANGUAGE-from-WSC-Avant-Bard-Gallaudet-University-20141028|publisher=broadwayWorld.com (Washington, DC)|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Wren|first1=Celia|title='Visible Language' captures the historic dispute in D.C. over how to teach the deaf|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/visible-language-captures-the-historic-dispute-in-dc-over-how-to-teach-the-deaf/2014/10/22/ef61ce4c-588c-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=8 June 2015}}

In September 2015, Avant Bard presented Friendship Betrayed by María de Zayas, a Spanish Golden Age playwright in a translation by Catherine Larson, based on the edition by Valerie Hegstrom. The play was produced in conjunction with the Women's Voices Theater Festival, but it wasn't an official entry because it was not a premiere.

{{cite web

|last=Dalfonzo|first=Gina

|title='Friendship Betrayed' at WSC Avant Bard

|url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/09/16/friendship-betrayed-at-wsc-avant-bard/

|date=2015-09-16

|accessdate=2022-03-04

}}

In May 2017, Avant Bard presented Shakespeare's King Lear, featuring prominent DC actor Rick Foucheaux in the title role. This production marked Foucheaux's retirement from acting full time.{{cite web

|last=Treanor|first=Tim

|title=Rick Foucheux is retiring. Here's why he's making his exit as King Lear at WSC Avant Bard

|url=https://dctheatrescene.com/2017/05/17/rick-foucheux-retiring-heres-hes-making-exit-king-lear-wsc-avant-bard/

|date=2017-05-17

|accessdate=2022-03-03

}}

In 2016, Avant Bard announced its first Scripts in Play festival.

{{cite web |date=2016-03-04 |title=WSC Avant Bard Presents FREE 'Scripts in Play Festival' From March 26-April 23, 2016 |url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2016/03/04/wsc-avant-bard-presents/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}} Over the course of several weeks, the company presents readings of plays. The festival is a developmental opportunity focused on advancing a playwright's work through collaborative feedback and exploration. Avant Bard has mounted full productions of a handful of SiP scripts in the past and has continued relationships with many of the festival's participating playwrights. Further, other theatres have produced festival scripts after seeing the readings.

In the spring of 2016, during the first festival, Avant Bard presented TAME., by Jonelle Walker, written as a response to The Taming of the Shrew. (The play is stylized as all capitals with a following period.) The play had been a hit in the 2014 Fringe Festival,

{{cite web |last=Clearwood |first=Maegan |date=2014-07-11 |title=TAME. |url=https://dctheatrescene.com/2014/07/11/tame/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}} and it was given a full stage production as part of the 2016–2017 season.

{{cite web |last=Siegel |first=David |date=2016-11-09 |title=Review: 'Tame.' at Avant Bard |url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2016/11/09/review-tame-avant-bard1/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}}

Over the years, several other festival plays have received full productions:

{{cite web |author=News Desk |date=2019-11-29 |title=Avant Bard Theatre Announces 'Scripts in Play: Season 30' |url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2019/11/29/avant-bard-theatre-announces-scripts-in-play-season-30/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}}

• The Good Devil (in Spite of Himself), a Commedia dell'arte farce by Mario Baldessari and Tyler Herman;

{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Alan |date=2016-06-23 |title=The Good Devil (in Spite of Himself), commedia from Avant Bard (review) |url=https://dctheatrescene.com/2016/06/23/good-devil-spite-avant-bard-review/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}}

• Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, by Lauren Gunderson, which received its regional premiere in 2017;

{{cite web |last=Dick |first=Norah |date=2017-10-21 |title=Theatre Review: 'Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends her Life Tonight' by WSC Avant Bard at Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two |url=https://mdtheatreguide.com/2017/10/theatre-review-emilie-la-marquise-du-chatelet-defends-her-life-tonight-by-wsc-avant-bard-at-gunston-arts-center-theatre-two/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}}

• Illyria, or What You Will, an adaptation of Twelfth Night by Jonelle Walker and Mitchell Hébert, set in a 1980s Manhattan underground queer club.

{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Mary Ann |date=2018-10-26 |title=Theatre Review: 'Illyria Or What You Will' at WSC Avant Bard |url=https://mdtheatreguide.com/2018/10/theatre-review-illyria-or-what-you-will-at-wsc-avant-bard/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}}

{{cite news |last=Wren |first=Celia |date=2018-10-25 |title=Faction of Fools and WSC Avant Bard offer zany Shakespeare |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/faction-of-fools-and-wsc-avant-bard-offer-zany-shakespeare/2018/10/25/1eccab78-d801-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49_story.html |accessdate=2022-03-03 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

• Ada and the Engine, by Lauren Gunderson, another Scripts in Play presentation, was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic,

{{cite web |title=ADA AND THE ENGINE |url=https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=108099 |accessdate=2022-03-03}} but was remounted in March 2022.{{cite web |author=News Desk |date=2021-08-26 |title=Avant Bard Theatre celebrates a grateful return to the stage |url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2021/08/26/avant-bard-theatre-celebrates-a-grateful-return-to-the-stage/ |accessdate=2022-03-03}}

• In February 2025, Rorschach Theatre, will produce The Figs, by Doug Robinson, which Avant Bard included in the 2022 Scripts in Play festival.{{Cite web |title=THE FIGS |url=https://rorschachtheatre.com/the-figs/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |language=en-US}}

Avant Bard has a history of presenting performances in Klingon (tlhIngan Hol), as Marc Okrand, the inventor of Klingon, is President of Avant Bard's board of directors.

In 2005, as part of its Bard-37 Canon Cabaret, a series of readings of the entire Shakespeare canon presented in chronological order over several months, the reading of Hamlet included passages read in the original Klingon.{{cite news|last1=Going Out Guide|title=Bard-37: Our Canon Cabaret|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/performing-arts/bard-37-our-canon-cabaret,1107602.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701073124/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/performing-arts/bard-37-our-canon-cabaret,1107602.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Murphy|first1=Theodore R.|title=Royal Theater|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB111049503410176476|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=8 June 2015}}

On September 25, 2010, the company presented By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon, which included scenes from Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet. Guest star George Takei joined the company, reciting a monologue from Julius Caesar (in English only).{{cite news|last1=Marks|first1=Peter|title=How the Washington Shakespeare Company came to offer Shakespeare in Klingon|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/27/AR2010082702649.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=8 June 2015}}

Subsequent to this performance, the company was contacted by the BBC, who wanted to film it for Fry's Planet Word, a documentary series about language written and presented by Stephen Fry.{{cite web|last1=d'Armond|title=Stephen Fry's Planet Word|url=http://datheist.blogspot.com/2011/09/stephen-frys-planet-word.html|publisher=d'Atheist (blogspot)|accessdate=8 June 2015}} George Takei did not reprise his appearance, but Fry himself took part in the Klingon version of the final scene of Hamlet, playing the role of Osric in costume.{{cite web|last1=Judkis|first1=Maura|title=Klingon Shakespeare 2: The Wrath of Khamlet|url=http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-arts/2011/02/klingon-shakespeare-2-the-wrath-of-khamlet-9005.html|publisher=TBD.com|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Fry|first1=Stephen|title=Me as a Klingon looking strangely…|url=http://www.stephenfry.com/2011/02/27/4d6ae04f2b734/|publisher=stephenrfy.com|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Treanor|first1=Tim|title=Let's get Klingon|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2011/01/28/lets-get-klingon/|publisher=DC Theatre Scene|accessdate=8 June 2015}} This performance took place on February 27, 2011.

Avant Bard then presented a sequel, Shakespeare in Klingon: The Wrath of (Michael) Kahn, on March 4, 2012.{{cite web|last1=Treanor|first1=Tim|title=Brush up your Klingon|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2012/01/18/brush-up-your-klingon/|publisher=DC Theatre Scene|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Freed|first1=Benjamin R.|title=The Klingons Are Coming Back to the Theater|url=http://dcist.com/2012/01/march_4_will_be_a_good_day_to_die.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105214045/http://dcist.com/2012/01/march_4_will_be_a_good_day_to_die.php|url-status=live|archive-date=5 November 2017|publisher=DCist.com|accessdate=8 June 2015}} This presentation featured a guest appearance by Michael Kahn (not Khan), the longtime artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, a large Equity company in downtown Washington, which features productions of Shakespeare and other classic playwrights. The similarity of the companies' two names has occasionally caused confusion for people unfamiliar with one or the other company.

Most recently, Avant Bard presented a staged reading of A Klingon Christmas Carol at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center's Theatre J, on December 15, 2014. This performance featured Marc Okrand, inventor of the Klingon language (and president of the company's board of directors), as Scrooge (SQuja').{{cite web|title="A Klingon Christmas Carol" trailer ("Interrogation of an Earthling")|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nc5t9AZYsM|website=youtube.com|publisher=Avant Bard|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Clements|first=Jennifer|title=Klingon language creator Marc Okrand plays Scrooge in WSC Avant Bard's Klingon Christmas Carol|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2014/12/08/klingon-language-creator-marc-okrand-plays-scrooge-wsc-avant-bards-klingon-christmas-carol/|publisher=DC Theatre Scene|accessdate=8 June 2015}}

In 2011-2012{{cite web|title=Catalogue for Philanthropy: WSC Avant Bard|url=http://www.cfp-dc.org/nonprofits/WSC-Avant-Bard-formerly-Washington-Shakespeare-Company|website=WSC Avant Bard|publisher=www.cfp-dc.org}} and in 2015-2015,{{cite web|title=Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy|url=http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy-dc.org/accept/list.php|website=Introducing the Catalogue for Philanthropy Class of 2015-16|publisher=www.catalogueforphilanthropy-dc.org}} Avant Bard was selected as "one of the best small charities in the greater Washington region" by the Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy.

The Mary Goldwater Awards were presented by the Theatre Lobby between 1987 and 2006. Given from a trust fund established by alumni of the Theatre Lobby company, the awards "were given for theatrical excellence without regard to category. If the Judges thought it appropriate, they would give the Award to more than one artist in a given category. Or to none." The Theatre Lobby gave between two and ten awards a year.{{cite web|last1=Treanor|first1=Tim|title=Mary Goldwater Awards preserved on DC Theatre Scene|url=http://dctheatrescene.com/2011/11/15/mary-goldwater-awards-preserved-on-dc-theatre-scene/|website=dctheatrescene.com|publisher=DC Theatre Scene|accessdate=5 July 2015}}

Avant Bard has been awarded a number of Helen Hayes Awards.{{cite web|title=HHA Nominees & Recipients|url=http://theatrewashington.org/find-hha-nominees?field_award_winner_value_many_to_one=All&field_award_category_value=&field_award_theater_name_value=%22washington+shakespeare%22&field_award_show_title_value=&field_nominee_first_name_value=&field_nominee_last_name_value|publisher=theatreWashington.org|accessdate=8 June 2015}}{{cite web|title=Nominations for the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards|url=http://theatrewashington.org/content/nominations-2015-helen-hayes-awards|website=theatreWashington.org|accessdate=27 June 2015}}{{cite web|title=Recipients of the 2015 Helen Hayes Awards|url=http://theatrewashington.org/content/recipients-2015-helen-hayes-awards|website=theatreWashington.org|accessdate=27 June 2015}}{{cite news

|title=Nominations for the 2017 Helen Hayes Awards

|newspaper=The Washington Post

|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nominations-for-the-2017-helen-hayes-awards/2017/02/06/0ac9101c-ec85-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html

|date=2017-02-06

|accessdate= 2022-03-03

}}{{cite news

|title=Nominations for the 2018 Helen Hayes Awards

|newspaper=The Washington Post

|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/nominations-for-the-2018-helen-hayes-awards/2018/02/05/235e8ea4-0aac-11e8-95a5-c396801049ef_story.html

|date=2018-02-05

|accessdate= 2022-03-03

}}{{Cite web|title=2020 Helen Hayes Awards: Outstanding Lead performer, Play – Helen, Direction, Musical, and Choreography, Play|url=https://dctheatrescene.com/2020/09/11/2020-helen-hayes-awards-outstanding-lead-performer-play-helen-direction-musical-and-choreography-play/|access-date=2021-08-20|website=dctheatrescene.com}}

Note: Starting in 2014, the nominations for Helen Hayes Awards were split into two groups: the Helen Group, for non-Equity productions; and the Hayes Group, for Equity productions. Each award category is awarded for both groups.{{cite web|last1=Pressley|first1=Nelson|title=Helen Hayes Awards will split nominees into two groups based on Equity involvement|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/helen-hayes-awards-will-split-nominees-into-two-groups-based-on-equity-involvement/2013/09/17/a7184fc8-1fc4-11e3-9ad0-96244100e647_story.html|website=washingtonpost.com|accessdate=27 June 2015}}

{{Portal|Theatre}}

• Helen Hayes Award
• Theater in Washington D.C.

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.avantbard.org/ Avant Bard official website]
• [http://www.cfp-dc.org/cfpdc/index.php Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy]

{{authority control}}

Category:Theatre companies in Virginia