Theatre Project

Avant-garde for all ages will be the watchword for the Theatre Project's 36th season. "It is a season that is very much intended to expose audiences to a wide variety of new work -- some highly accessible, such as Squonk Opera's Baltimore: The Opera; some far more cutting-edge, such as a largely nonverbal Bulgarian piece," said producing director Anne Cantler Fulwiler. Changes include more student matinees and restructured ticket pricing (general admission will go up $4, but student prices will be reduced $1)

Comics, alive The lowdown -- Theatre Project veterans Daniel Stein and Touchstone Theatre of Bethlehem, Pa., return to the Preston Street venue beginning tonight with A Comic Strip. Created collaboratively and directed by Stein, this grown-up, dark comedy focuses on a cartoonist whose life is about to crumble when characters from his favorite boyhood comic strip take him on a perilous, eye-opening journey. If you go -- Showtimes at the Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., are 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays, through June 17. Tickets are $16. Call 410-752-8558 or go to theatre project.

Eclecticism will be the rule at the Theatre Project for 1999-2000. The new season's offerings range from a gay film festival to two installments of "Danceteria" to a new work by controversial New York performance artist Holly Hughes."

It's taken a long time, but David Drake is home at last.Seven years ago, Drake's one-man show, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me," became an off-Broadway sensation. He went on to perform this sensitive and hard-hitting, touching and explosive show in cities ranging from Los Angeles to London, from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia.The irony is that the semi-autobiographical show is set, in part, in Maryland, where Drake grew up. He even tried some of the material out here years ago. Drake has wanted to bring his show home for some time, and now he finally has.An account of Drake's coming of age as a gay man, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me" is making its Baltimore debut at the Theatre Project, where it is being filmed before a live audience for release as an independent feature.

Funkopolis, the collaborative Baltimore-based company that made its debut two seasons ago with "3 Stories to the Ground," is back with a new original piece, "An Exquisite Dream of Fire," which opens tonight at the Theatre Project.Working with a five-member cast, Tim Brown, the show's writer and director, has created a vision of the inner world of the mentally ill. "We're trying to differentiate from the typical show that would look from the outside," he says."An Exquisite Dream of Fire" is co-produced with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)

This is the last weekend to take the kids to see the Stanislavsky Theatre Studio's double bill of children's shows -- "Kashtanka" and "The Miraculous Magical Balloon" -- at the Theatre Project.Adapted from a short story by Chekhov, "Kashtanka" tells the tale of a dog that is separated from its master and adopted by a family of circus performers. "The Miraculous Magical Balloon," an original one-act pantomime, is about a puppet that longs to be a prima ballerina. Based in Silver Spring, the movement-oriented Stanislavsky Theatre Studio was founded in 1997 by theater artists who emigrated from the former Soviet Union.

Although much of David Drake's semi-autobiographical one-man show, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me," takes place in his home state of Maryland, he has never performed the entire show here -- until now.Beginning Wednesday, Drake will repeat his Obie Award-winning performance at the Theatre Project, where the show -- a portrait of the artist as a gay young man -- will be filmed before a live audience for release as an independent feature."

The Stanislavsky Theater Studio might not sound like a Maryland troupe, but this young company is based in Silver Spring. Founded by theater professionals who immigrated to this country from the former Soviet Union, the company takes its name from the late Russian director, actor and teacher Konstantin Stanislavsky.Tomorrow, the Stanislavsky Theater makes its Baltimore debut with the first of two productions to be performed at the Theatre Project. "The Little Tragedies," a quartet of short pieces by Alexander Pushkin, will run weekend nights through April 11. On March 20, it will be joined by matinees of a double bill of "Kashtanka," an adaptation of an Anton Chekhov story about a dog, and "The Miraculous Magical Balloon," an original pantomime.

Two plays that deal, at least in part, with growing up and coming of age are among the new offerings on Baltimore stages. Former Marylander David Drake's one-man show, "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me" -- a semi-autobiographical portrait of the gay artist as a young man -- will make its Baltimore debut at the Theatre Project on Wednesday. And Dianne McIntyre's salute to her father, "I Could Stop on a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change," is the last show of the season at Center Stage.Drake's hit off-Broadway show, much of which is set in Maryland, will be filmed for release as an independent feature before an invited audience at the Theatre Project, immediately after its public engagement.

"The King of Kings and I," Jaffe Cohen's autobiographical one-man show at the Theatre Project, is slight stuff -- barely more than a stand-up comedy routine.The last time Cohen was here, in 1992, he was one-third of the comedy trio known as "Funny Gay Males." His cohorts are missed this time around.Granted, Cohen's current material -- essentially a portrait of the artist as a gay, Jewish young man -- is a bit more universal than his previous bit. And he's still funny ("I ... tried to take a mime class, but I failed it. I'm Jewish.

Jeffrey Scott Roberts, a local actor who worked on "The Wire" and appeared in numerous local theatrical productions, died Monday of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care. A resident of the Murray Hill section of Baltimore County, he was 46. Mr. Roberts was the stand-in for actor Dominic West, who portrayed Baltimore police officer James McNulty in "The Wire." The two actors had similar builds, hair color and wore the same size clothes. He was also a stand-in for Alan Rickman in the 2004 HBO movie, "Something the Lord Made."

Paper birds, puppets, grandmothers and private eyes - a line-up this diverse could only be offered by Baltimore's Theatre Project, the most proudly eclectic of the city's performing arts organizations. "This is a season that is very much characteristic of our background in supporting quality alternative theater and dance," said Anne Fulwiler, Theatre Project's producing director, in announcing the organization's 2009-2010 schedule. "We're always adventurous and provocative - that has been our past mantra, and our current manta, too."

theater 'Ace': See Ace here before it goes to Broadway. This new musical tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who is magically transported back in time - and heals his shattered past. The show, at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va., runs through Sept. 28. Times vary. Tickets are $49-$86. Call 703-820-9771 or go to signature-theatre.org. Mary Carole McCauley museums 'The Legacy of Enoch Pratt': To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Baltimore philanthropist Enoch Pratt's birth, which was Sept.

Baltimore's fall 2008 arts scene unfolds in venues all over the metro area, from the Recher Theatre in Towson to the Lyric Opera House downtown, from the Charles Street to the Hippodrome on Eutaw Street. And it encompasses a little bit of everything, from the cutting-edge plays of Theatre Project to the melodic sounds of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. Looking to laugh? Try the Charles' Preston Sturges retrospective, showcasing the films of one of the true masters of screwball comedy.

The lowdown -- In Solo: A Two-Person Show, co-creators and performers Matt Chapman and Josh Matthews tell the tale of two brothers attempting to sort their way through the puzzling details of their last moments together and discover what may or may not have happened to each other. If you go -- Solo: A Two-Person Show will take place at 7 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday at Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. The show is appropriate for ages 8 and older. Tickets are $10-$20.

Local theater groups and returning troupes from years past will showcase plays in Theatre Project's 2008-2009 season. Theatre Project, known for its experimental and original productions, will also partner with the Creative Alliance to present two plays next spring. "I think it's great we're going to be partnering with the Creative Alliance," said Anne Cantler Fulwiler, Theatre Project's producing director. "We share a lot of sensibilities." In past years, subscribers could purchase a set six-play season package.

The lowdown -- Ancient Greek philosophy takes the form of contemporary dance at Theatre Project tonight-Sunday with The Unity of Skin. Presented by Carrie Ahern Dance, three dancers interact with an adaptable soft-sculpture set, exploring the sensation of the body plunging into water. If you go -- The Unity of Skin is at 8 p.m. today-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Theatre Project is at 45 W. Preston St. $10-$20. Call 410-752-8558. `Stabat Mater' The lowdown -- Pro Musica Rara presents "Boccherini in Shadow and Light" Saturday at Towson University.

`Congo Square' dance The lowdown -- For New Orleans' African slaves, Congo Square represented both repression and freedom. The area in Louisiana, now known as Louis Armstrong Park, simultaneously hosted auctions selling newly arrived Africans, meetings of slaves in which secret messages were passed and leisurely picnics for their masters. Sankofa Dance Company tells the story of this historical site through its dance theater production Congo Square ... a New Orleans Tale on Saturday at the Baltimore Museum of Art. If you go -- Shows start at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. The museum is at 10 Art Museum Drive.

We tend to think about words as the building blocks of theater, but sometimes a show comes along to remind us that an actor's physical presence can be enough to hold our attention. Indeed, Ramesh Meyyappan never says a word in his Theatre Project solo show, an adaptation of Dario Fo's Mistero Buffo. A Nobel Prize-winning Italian writer and performer known for his comic explorations of existential and political themes, Fo relies on spoken language that combines real words with nonsensical sounds.

As a college student in the early '80s, Anne Cantler Fulwiler saw a couple of Dario Fo plays in London. "I fell in love with the humor and the political intent," Fulwiler said. Now, as Theatre Project's producing director, Fulwiler will welcome the first Fo play to be performed at the avant-garde venue. Starting this weekend, Theatre Project hosts Ramesh Meyyappan's dialogueless adaptation of Fo's play Mistero Buffo. The performance is part of the annual QuestFest, a two-week celebration of visual theater.