But tickets at TicketCenterStage.com
 
 

The Human Race Theatre Company – Where the Human Spirit Soars

Now into our 21st season, The Human Race Theatre Company continues to bring the beauty, drama and excitement of professional live theatre to Dayton and southwestern Ohio, serving a population numbering nearly one million. Our Loft Series 1 and 2 provide audiences with award winning, cutting edge drama, American classics and regional and world premieres. Our Musical Theatre Workshop series expands the repertoire of enthusiastic musical audiences with brand new or seldom performed material. And our education programs touch literally thousands of children, while outreach programs address the cultural needs of challenged individuals throughout the Miami Valley.

After humble beginnings, where productions were mounted in whatever space was available to accommodate our budding troupe of artists and actors and their small audiences, we now enjoy a growing reputation and national recognition for excellence in theatre. From our home in the Metropolitan Arts Center in downtown Dayton, The Human Race Theatre Company provides ever-increasing audiences with a myriad of entertaining and enlightening performances. Most works are now presented in the intimate setting of our own Loft Theatre, while occasionally we are able to utilize the larger and more elaborate venues of the historic Victoria Theatre and the new Schuster Center. Our Youth Training Programs, which include Adventures in Theatre classes, Residencies, In-School Tours, Youth Summer Stock and Theatre in Context, allow us to connect with over 30,000 students and teachers annually in and out of classrooms throughout Dayton and southwestern Ohio. And we’ve now expanded our onsite educational programming even further with the new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center.

We’ve earned our place as a vital part of Dayton’s cultural community by offering an alternative to mainstream theatre with thought provoking productions that challenge and enlighten audiences. In recognition of our efforts, The Human Race Theatre Company received an Encore Award from the Ohio Theatre Alliance, citing our “commitment to quality, vision and growth for audiences and artists.” We were also nominated for the prestigious Governor’s Award for the Arts celebrating the best of Ohio.

As our Artistic Mission states, The Human Race Theatre Company works to affect the conscience of our community, to see our audiences as our partner in the creative experience, to provide a platform for our artists to evolve and explore and to be an educational resource for our community. As our name suggests, we present universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us into a renewed awareness of ourselves. As a professional, yet non-profit theatre, it is a mission we take very seriously as we address the educational and cultural needs of those we serve.


 
   

  • 1986 – Suzy Bassani, Caryl Philips and Sara Exley join forces to form Dayton’s own permanent professional theatre production company incorporating it as The Human Race. First production, Count Dracula, performed at the old Victory Theatre in September.

  • 1988 – We move into the renovated lobby of the old Biltmore Hotel. We perform four seasons there – 19 major productions.

  • 1991 – We produce and perform Viva Victoria to re-open the newly refurbished Victoria Theatre. We move to the Metropolitan Arts Center, home of our preferred venue, The Loft Theatre.

  • 1993 – Began first full season with Actors’ Equity, the union for actors and stage managers. We begin our practice of combining our regional professional artists together with visiting artists from Chicago, New York and other metropolitan areas.

  • 1996 – We premiere the Dayton Stories project for the city’s 200th anniversary.

  • 1997 – We begin collaboration with the Victoria Theatre Assoc. as presenter for Loft Series 1.

  • 1999 – We commission and produce the world premiere of Mother Russia by Jeffrey Hatcher and move the show to Indianapolis and Chicago.

  • 2000 – Our Musical Theatre Workshop launches initiative for developing new works for the stage (14 new musicals to date and 2 national summits).

  • 2001 – West Side Story combines our talents with The Dayton Philharmonic, Ballet, Victoria Theatre and Wright State University for an epic collaboration with record-breaking ticket sales.

  • 2003 – We commission and produce the world premier of Wild Blue for the Inventing Flight celebration. Our Executive Director, Kevin Moore, and Artistic Director, Marsha Hanna, are both inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.

  • 2004 – The Human Race “Join the Race” 5K Run/Walk is introduced as a friend raiser. The “Race to the Future” capital campaign is launched to raise funds for expansion of the new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center of The Human Race. The Human Race receives 34 of 39 DayTony Awards in Professional Theatre categories, and we are recognized for the best theatrical season in 6 counties for the 2nd year in a row. Humana, known nationally for their support of Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival of New Plays, begins their sponsorship of the Loft Series. We work with nationally recognized talents on the world premieres of two major new works, Getting to Know You and Was.

 
         
   

 

    
Copyright 2006 The Human Race Theatre Company. All rights reserved.

Season   •   Tickets   •   Getting Here   •   About Us   •   Education   •   Support Us
News & Events   •   Musical Theatre Workshops   •   Join Our Mailing List   •   Contact Us   •   Site Map