The Human Race Theatre Company
 |
Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore receive the 2010 Governor’s Award for Arts Administration from First Lady of Ohio, Frances Strickland |
The 2010-11 season marks The Human Race Theatre Company’s 24th Season of bringing the beauty, drama and excitement of live professional theatre to Dayton and southwestern Ohio serving a population numbering nearly one million. Our Loft Season provides 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. Moreover, our education programs touch thousands of children, while outreach programs address the cultural needs of challenged individuals throughout the Miami Valley.
 |
|
View the interview with Executive Director, Kevin Moore produced by ThinkTV™ |
Adobe Flash Player required  |
After humble beginnings, when productions were mounted in whatever space was available to accommodate our budding troupe of artists and actors with 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 annually we are able to utilize the larger and more elaborate venue of the historic Victoria Theatre.
Our Youth Training Programs, which include classes, residencies and tours, allow us to connect with over 30,000 students and teachers annually throughout Dayton and southwestern Ohio, both in and out of classrooms. In addition, we have now expanded our onsite educational programming even further with the new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center.
We have 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. As our name suggests, we present universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us all into a renewed awareness of ourselves. As Dayton’s only professional, not-for-profit theatre, it is a mission we take very seriously as we address the educational and cultural needs of those we serve.
- 2010 – The Human Race again collaborates with Wright State University to produce August: Osage County which is presented at WSU’s Festival Theatre. Resident Lighting Designer John Rensel is inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame. Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore receive the 2010 Ohio Governor’s Award for Arts Administration.
- 2009 – The Human Race again joined forces with Rhythm in Shoes to produce Brother Wolf, a traditional Appalachian retelling of the Beowulf myth. The scheduled production of Gem of the Ocean was postponed and replaced by the new musical Ethel Waters: His Eye Is On The Sparrow. The Miriam Rosenthal Foundation has underwritten our Musical Theatre initiative by supporting two summers of Lovewell and Musical Theatre Workshops as well as the revival of Man of LaMancha and the premiere of Ordinary Days.
- 2008 – We complete our partnership with The Victoria Theatre Association and rejoin the two subscription series into the single Eichelberger Loft Season. The Musical Theatre Workshop holds its first summer festival, performing two new shows in repertory along with performances by the new Lovewell Institute Summer Stock where teens write, rehearse and perform their own original musical.
- 2007 – On April 28th, we marked the 21st birthday of the company, a coming of age celebrated by “The Mirror Ball”, the company’s signature fundraising event. We began our third decade by premiering Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots and instituted a scholarship fund in Mr. Schwartz’s name for high school and collegiate students pursuing a career in musical theatre.
- 2006 – We began our 20th anniversary season. Kevin Moore was named to the board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Resident Artist Kay Bosse was inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.
- 2005 – The “Race to the Future” capital campaign was launched to raise funds for renovation and programming of the new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center of The Human Race, a facility to house both the additional classes and the company’s collection of costumes and props.
- 2004 – The Human Race “Join the Race” 5K Run/Walk was introduced as a friend raiser. In the inaugural year of The DayTony Awards, The Human Race received 34 of 39 Awards in the Professional Theatre category. Resident Artist Scott Stoney was inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.
- 2003 – We commissioned and produced the world premiere of Wild Blue for the Inventing Flight celebration. Our Executive Director, Kevin Moore, and Artistic Director, Marsha Hanna, were both inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.
- 2001 – West Side Story combined our talents with The Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Ballet, Victoria Theatre and Wright State University for an epic collaboration with record-breaking ticket sales.
- 2000 – We launched our Musical Theatre Workshop, dedicated to the development of new musical works for the stage (22 new musicals to date and 2 national summits for musical writers).
- 1999 – We commissioned and produced the world premiere of Mother Russia by Jeffrey Hatcher and moved the show to Indianapolis and Chicago. This represented our 4th collaboration with The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis.
- 1997 – We began our partnership with the Victoria Theatre Association. By splitting our subscription series into Loft Series 1 and Loft Series 2 and mixing locally produced theatre with innovative touring productions, we increased our subscription base by 100%. This partnership between a producer and a presenter was unique to the industry, setting a precedent in other cities.
- 1996 – We premiered And That’s My Story as the completion of the Dayton Stories project, a 3-year collaboration with CityFolk in honor of the Dayton’s 200th anniversary. With an original script by Tony Dallas and directed by Sheila Ramsey, it featured the talents of Resident Artists Michael Lippert, Kay Bosse, and Scott Stoney as well as Sharon Leahy, Rick Good and other members of Rhythm in Shoes.
- 1993 – The Human Race was accepted into Culture Works as a Level I constituent, establishing the company as an on-going recipient of community funds and insuring that a theatre production company would be a part of Dayton’s future cultural scene.
1992 – Negotiations were completed with Actors’ Equity, the union for professional actors and stage managers. We began our practice of combining our regional professional artists with visiting artists from Chicago, New York and other metropolitan areas.- 1991 – Suzy retired from The Human Race to focus on the Muse Machine and Marsha Hanna was named as her successor. In June, we moved to our current home, The Loft Theatre in the Metropolitan Arts Center.
- 1990 – We produced and performed Viva Victoria to re-open the newly refurbished Victoria Theatre in January.
- 1988 – We moved into the renovated lobby of the old Biltmore Hotel, where we performed four seasons – 19 major productions.
- 1986 – Suzy Bassani, Caryl D. Philips and Sara Exley joined forces to form Dayton’s own permanent professional theatre production company, incorporating it as The Human Race on April 28. The first production, Count Dracula, was performed at the old Victory Theatre in September. Kevin Moore became the first Executive Director, the position he still holds today.
The Human Race Theatre Company is a member of: