Artistic Director

In his Oscar acceptance speech, "The Artist" director Michel Hazanavicius said he wanted to thank three people: "Billy Wilder, Billy Wilder and Billy Wilder. " Backstage, Hazanavicius was asked why he felt compelled to thank Wilder, the Oscar-winning director of such classics as "The Lost Weekend," "Double Indemnity" and "The Apartment," three times. "I thanked Billy Wilder three times," he replied, "because I had to keep it short. " Hazanavicius said he would have thanked his accomplished forebear 1,000 times if he could have, referring to the Austrian-born Wilder as "the perfect director" and "the soul of Hollywood.

They're mostly in their 20s, college grads who majored in theater or related studies. If they weren't friends before deciding to collaborate, they're friends now. They're enthusiastic multitaskers. None of them will get rich soon. Meet the participants in Baltimore's ensemble theater scene, which is making its presence felt in much same way as the city's underground music and art scenes, with a steady output of new, eclectic, provocative fare. "There is a critical mass of young artists all in one area at one time looking to get work done," said Mike Vandercook, co-founder of the Generous Company, which recently relocated from New York and has a monthlong festival scheduled for January.

Kwame Kwei-Armah has a way of pulling others into his gravitational field, whirling them around and then depositing them in a place at some distance from where they started out. People leave an encounter with Center Stage 's incoming artistic director staggering a bit and with their hair mussed, but visibly charged up. The 45-year-old Kwei-Armah, who takes over leadership of Maryland's largest regional theater on July 1 from Irene Lewis, was...

When Kwame Kwei-Armah spotted a group of high school students walking back to class after attending a play he'd written, he rushed across Mount Vernon Square to intercept them. Kwei-Armah had previously met the teens during a visit to the Baltimore School for the Arts and knew they had tickets to a matinee of "Elmina's Kitchen. " On that winter afternoon in 2005, Kwei-Armah couldn't wait to hear the youngsters' reactions to his explosive urban drama and to answer their questions.

Center Stage announced Monday that British playwright, actor and director Kwame Kwei-Armah will be the company's new artistic director. He succeeds Irene Lewis, who steps down at the end of this season after 19 years. "I've just fallen in love with Center Stage and fallen in love with Baltimore," Kwei-Armah said from London. "When the position became available, I felt it might be somewhat disrespectful to Irene to throw my hat in the ring, but she said it was a wonderful idea.

The start of Ballet Theatre of Maryland's 32nd season also marks the eighth season as artistic director for Dianna Cuatto, who praised the company as she looked forward to the coming season. "This season we continue to fulfill our mission to provide Maryland with excellent dance at affordable prices," Cuatto said. "We have the best dancers this company has ever had, with the most energy. " Among the new dancers Cuatto is pleased to welcome are Joshua Burnham, whom she describes as "a superb actor with great jumps and turns"; Edward Tracz, formerly of Orlando Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, who "is a beautiful lyrical dancer with legs and feet of gold"; and Stirling Mattheson, who is from Nashville Ballet and who has "his own particular blend of elegance and boyish gusto.

Debbie Chinn will step down from Center Stage after a whirlwind two years as managing director of Baltimore's largest and best-known regional theater — a decision she says she initiated. Chinn, 53, announced her resignation Tuesday during a meeting of Center Stage staff. "There were gasps," she said, adding that she will leave at the end of December. "These are extraordinary times that require bold decisions," Chinn said. "I've been thinking about this for quite some time and became convinced that Center Stage should be free to chart its own course without being confined by past practices — even if that meant reconsidering my own position.

As the head of Baltimore's most prominent regional theater, Center Stage artistic director Irene Lewis not only is intellectually fearless, but she also possesses a big heart. She is passionately committed to speaking up for the people in society who can't do it for themselves, and she has never once dumbed down a show to attract a mass audience. She has a shrewd eye for talent and a gift for inspiring deep loyalty in actors and members of her staff. And she has built an audience at Center Stage so racially diverse it's the envy of theaters nationwide.

Center Stage artistic director Irene Lewis said Wednesday that she's been asked to leave her post as head of Baltimore's largest regional theater. Lewis, who has guided Baltimore's venerable company for nearly two decades, surprised her staff yesterday, saying that she will no longer provide artistic leadership after next season. The announcement signifies a major shift in direction for a troupe that once enjoyed a national reputation for producing daring new shows and reimagining classics, but that in recent years has become less prominent.

Theater directors around the country are mourning the death of Michael Philippi, a theatrical lighting designer and Rodgers Forge resident, who died Tuesday in Chicago. According to the Cook County medical examiner's office, Mr. Philippi, who was 58 and had lived in Baltimore since 1993, collapsed and died on a downtown Chicago street. The cause of death has not been determined. Mr. Philippi was on his way to a technical rehearsal at the Goodman Theatre where he was working on its production of Alan Gross' "High Holidays."