ABOUT THE BAY THEATRE

The Bay Theatre Company, Inc. is a professional regional theatre company located in Annapolis, Maryland. The theatre is located on the outer West Street corridor of downtown Annapolis. Tucked away in the lower level of the West Garrett office building, the intimate, off-Broadway style house is entering its third season. Our goal is to offer productions which are exciting and leave our audiences thinking and even transformed by the experience of the play. Our plays are produced by the company and directed by the artistic director, Lucinda Merry-Browne as well as visiting directors from other theatres.

We perform six to eight productions per year in conjunction with the Bay Theatre Studio, the educational wing of the theatre. Our productions range from modern to classic. Some of our representative playwrights are: Shaw, Ibsen, Chekhov, Williams, Wilder, Albee, Mamet, Shepard, McNally, Durang and many more.

The Bay Theatre Studio offers theatre education for all ages. We believe that education in the theatre is valuable not only for the professional arena, but also teaches life skills which can be used in many other careers. Introductory classes are open to all. Upper level classes are open by audition with the professional staff of the company.

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STAFF BIOS

Lucinda Merry-Browne , Artistic & Managing Director and co-founder, The Bay Theatre Company, Inc.

For The Bay Theatre Company, Lucinda has directed Beyond Therapy, Oleanna, Here We Are, Marry Me A Little, The Sneeze, Chesapeake, Arms and the Man , The Gin Game and Tartuffe, and co-directed Fool for Love. She has also produced or co-produced all of Bay Theatre’s productions to date, and, in 2006, played Ethel Banks in Bay Theatre’s Barefoot in the Park. She has acted and directed in the Washington, D. C. and Annapolis area for most of her professional career. She taught high school drama in Montgomery County, Maryland, before starting her own federally funded theatre education company, called The Merry Company, to develop drama programs for senior citizens in the Washington, D.C. area. She holds a degree in English from Duke University, attended Wellesley College, and is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

Janet Luby , Associate Artistic Director and co-founder, of The Bay Theatre Company

A graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Janet performed in ACT’s A Tale of Two Cities (directed by Sabin Epstein). She also played the part of Ida in Die Fledermaus at the San Francisco Opera (directed by Lotfi Monsouri).  Janet lived in New York for 10 years where she appeared off-Broadway as Mariane in Tartuffe and Livia in The Tamer Tames at the RAPP Arts Center (directed by Jeffrey Cohen).  Janet is a member of Actors’ Equity.

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MISSION STATEMENT

• To establish a professional regional theatre company and studio in Annapolis, Maryland.
• To share the art of the theatre by producing plays of superb quality and richness for audiences of diverse ages and cultures.
• To provide a source of theatre education and working opportunities to theatre artists to learn and practice the ancient and beautiful craft of drama.

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HISTORY

     Lucinda Merry-Browne and Janet Luby founded The Bay Theatre in 2002, to establish the first Equity regional non-profit professional theater in Annapolis, Maryland. Our first production, Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang played in a local volleyball court, temporarily converted into a theater. Despite its odd locale, the show received rave reviews in The Capital, which marked the beginning of a five-year string of successes. Our next show, David Mamet's Oleanna, was produced at the Loew's Hotel. The thought-provoking nature of this script caught the eye of local reviewers and helped to increase our audiences significantly. The 2003 summer workshop at the William Paca house was The Bay Theatre's first opportunity to engage our community of students in the educational aspect of our mission. We were well rewarded with an inspired high school student production. This propelled our fall class roster with classes and workshops in acting, auditioning, and Shakespeare for middle and high school students.

     In the fall of 2003, The Bay Theatre secured its first home in West Garrett Place, The second season opened that same year with Stephen Sondheim's musical Marry Me a Little and included three productions. The success of these productions and continuing praise from area theater critics has allowed the theater to offer increased productions each season for the past four years. From 2004 to 2006, The Bay Theatre's choice of unique, entertaining, and thought-provoking scripts, and our dedication to quality in the directing and acting of our productions resulted more growth and success. Acting classes and theatre workshops for children, adolescents and adults have continued to grow. Many workshops offer elementary and middle school students the unique chance to work with talented professionals from outside the Maryland area.

TIME LINE

2002-2003 Founded theatre, incorporated as non-profit 501c3, drafted mission, mounted two plays, a summer student workshop, and a one-act benefit performance

2003-2004 Leased lower level office space in downtown Annapolis for two years at a 50% discount, gutted large conference room, pulled down drop ceiling, added a fire door and sprinklers, painted entire space black, mounted three full productions plus benefit performance and gala, classes and workshops for students

2004-2005 Improved space with risers, technical booth with new light board, bought 45 theatre lighting fixtures, sound equipment, online ticketing, mounted three full productions plus benefit performance, gala, classes and workshops for students

2005-2006 Improved space with better seating, better light board, better sound equipment, mounted three full productions plus benefit performance, gala, workshops and classes. Experienced many sell out performances.

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