Arena Stage Holds Ground-Breaking Ceremony Jan.30

After completing a successful three-month effort to move theater operations into temporary spaces around the D.C. area, Arena Stage has announced it will break ground on the 47-year-old Southwest, D.C. campus January 30, 2008 at 10AM. The event will take place onsite at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue, SW.

This ceremonial event commences 29 months of construction to make way for the new Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The ceremony will include speeches from special members of the Arena Stage family, an announcement of a visionary gift to support the creation of the new 200-seat theater, the Cradle, and will conclude with a surprise event to clear space for the new theater.

The $125 million renovation will be a breathtaking expansion of the current campus allowing Arena Stage to focus on the strengths of the two existing spaces - The Fichandler Stage and the Kreeger Theater - while reinventing the surrounding building and adding the Cradle. The theater has currently raised $107 of its $125 million fundraising goal since the Next Stage Campaign launched in 2002. Arena Stage at the Mead Center is scheduled to open for the 2010/2011 season.

To allow for a timely and cost-effective renovation, Arena Stage has begun operating at a temporary venue, Arena Stage in Crystal City, in Arlington, VA. Minutes from the current location in Southwest, D.C., the area around Arena Stage in Crystal City boasts many well-known restaurants, is convenient to the Crystal City Metro and has free evening and weekend parking. The theater is roughly the same size as the Kreeger, and seats 460 patrons. Details on programming for the Arena Stage 2008/09 season, including productions at the Lincoln Theater in D.C., will be shared at a later date. For more information on Arena Stage in Crystal City and The Mead Center for American Theater visit www.arenastage.org.