Molly Smith is an American theatre director and the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of Arena Stage in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1998 to 2023. During this period, she emphasized promoting new American plays, playwrights, and voices, producing 200 works. In addition, she helped originate 150 works by workshops and commissions at the Arena. She also drove the development and design of a complex called The Mead Center for American Theater, completed in 2010. The project included renovations of the two existing theaters, and construction of a third theater, and related spaces to bring all functions to the site. With this, Arena became the largest regional theater in Washington and second to the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

. In 1979 Smith had founded the

Perseverance Theatre Perseverance Theatre is a professional theater company located on Douglas Island in Juneau, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska. It is Alaska's only professional theater and is particularly dedicated to developing and working with Alaskan artists and to produc ...

in her home town of

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

, soon after completing her master's in theatre at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. She led the theatre company as artistic director until 1998. In addition to building audience and community through established works, she directed several world premieres of new works by rising American playwrights.

Biography

Born and raised in a theater family in

, Smith moved to the Lower 48 for college and graduate school. She attended

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

(Washington, D.C.), and received a master's degree in 1978 in theatre from

. She returned to Juneau, where in 1979 she founded the

.Viagas, Robert
"New AD Molly Smith Announces DC Arena Season, With Loomer & Glover"
''Playbill'', April 20, 1998 Smith led this company as artistic director until 1998. Smith commissioned numerous world premieres at the Perseverance Theatre, including

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright. She is known for her provocative explorations of complex social and political issues. Much of her work delves into themes of psychological trauma, abuse, and the complexities of hum ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning '' How I Learned to Drive'' and '' The Mineola Twins'', Tim Acito’s '' The Women of Brewster Place'', Moises Kaufman’s ''33 Variations'',

Charles Randolph-Wright Charles Randolph-Wright is an American film, television, and theatre director, television producer, screenwriter, and playwright. Early life A native of York, South Carolina, Randolph-Wright graduated with honors from York High School. He atten ...

's ''Blue'',

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo ...

's lost play, '' Polk County;'' and

Sarah Ruhl Sarah Ruhl (born January 24, 1974) is an American playwright, poet, professor, and essayist. Among her most popular plays are ''Eurydice'' (2003), '' The Clean House'' (2004), and '' In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)'' (2009). She has been ...

's ''Passion Play, a cycle.''

Artistic Director of Arena Stage

In 1998, Smith returned to Washington when she was selected as Artistic Director of Arena Stage. Her emphasis has been on encouraging production of American plays, from both established and new playwrights, encouraging new voices by developing writers through commissions and workshops, and focusing on American stories. Her innovations have increased not only the range of playwrights and artists, but resulted in more diverse audiences for Arena Stage. She founded Arena's "downstairs series," which has held readings and workshopped some 60 plays, many of have later received full productions. Through the Power Plays initiative, from 2016 to 2024 Arena has commissioned 25 new plays related to American history.

Additional projects

Smith has also directed at the Shaw Festival in Canada (2007), Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, and Centaur Theatre in Montreal, and includes the shows ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

'', ''

Mack and Mabel ''Mack & Mabel'' is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand (transformed from an artist's mo ...

'', ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a Play (theatre), play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway theatre, Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According ...

'', ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

'', "

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

", and "

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

".Arena Stage / About Arena / Leadership
arenastage.org Smith has served as Literary Adviser to the

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

Theatre Lab. She formed the Arena Stage Writers Council in partnership with

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. The Council is composed of leading American playwrights and promotes development. Smith brings artists of international renown to the Arena. She is a member of the Board of the Theatre Communications Group, as well as the Center for International Theatre Development. She has also directed two feature films. ''Raven's Blood'' (1997) was adapted from the mystery novel, ''Death of an Alaskan Princess,'' by Bridget Smith, and filmed in Juneau."'Raven's Blood' opens"
''Juneau Empire.com'', 11 September 1997, accessed 14 February 2013 A major community effort, it featured many local actors and extras. She also directed ''Making Contact'' (1999). In 2014 Smith married her longtime partner, Suzanne Blue Star Boy, in a ceremony officiated by Supreme Court Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

. They had met in Alaska. The ceremony was held in the Kogod Cradle of the Arena's complex, with the reception on the outdoor terrace and in the rehearsal hall.Ritzel, Rebecca
"Molly Smith married"
''The Washington Post'', September 16, 2014.

Legacy and honors

Smith led the development of Arena Stage as a center for new American plays, artists, and voices. Some 200 works were produced, including by established American playwrights. She directed many new works, and invited diverse actors and directors to participate in productions. Some 150 works were originated in readings, workshops and related initiatives at the Arena Stage. From 2016 to 2024, a total of 25 plays have been commissioned related to American history. The Mead Center for American Theater, completed in 2010, is one of her legacies. Smith has received Honorary Doctorates from

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

universities. She organized a march on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

for gun control on January 26, 2013.

References

External links

Arena Stage
Arenastage.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Molly American theatre directors American women theatre directors Living people People from Juneau, Alaska People from Washington, D.C. Year of birth missing (living people)

Biography

Artistic Director of Arena Stage

Additional projects

Legacy and honors

See also

References

External links