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NEW Mainstage
The majority of Olney Theatre Center productions will be presented in its new 429-seat theater.
The New Mainstage opened in August of 2005 and is a state-of-the art facility with stadium seating on
two levels and advanced acoustical design. Designed by the firm Hart Howerton, the theater was an 8.5 million
dollar project. It was designed to be in the spirit of Shaker architecture to match the other facilities on OTC's
campus and to pay homage to the roots of the Olney community.
Historic Stage
The majority of Olney Theatre Center productions are presented in the 440-seat mainstage
theater. The mainstage theater, the original site where productions
have been presented since 1938, contains a 30-foot wide by 35-foot
deep proscenium stage, complete with orchestra pit. (The space has
the capacity to thrust the stage over the pit an extra 10 feet.)
When the theater was originally built, it was constructed around
a large tree, which was situated in the front right of the house
(i.e., the audience) and rose up through the roof. In addition,
because Olney Theatre was not air-conditioned (and was originally
a summer stock theater), wooden shutters on either side of the house
would be opened before each performance to allow cross-ventilation
in the theater. Although these features are long gone, many original
items remain, including the peach basket shades over the house lights
and the wooden doors leading into the theater.
Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab
In 1999, OTC opened the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, the first component of its Millennium
Campaign to expand the campus into a true cultural center in Montgomery
County. The lab is a 48 square foot black box with a 22-foot ceiling,
which serves as both a performance and rehearsal space. The lab
is the current summer home of the Potomac Theatre Project, Olney
Theatre Center’s alternative theater company in residence,
which uses the lab to present productions during the Potomac Theatre
Festival: The Annual Festival of Political Theater.
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