The Olney Theatre Center has been a staple of Olney since 1938.

by Evelyn San Miguel ‘26

Since its humble beginnings in 1938 as a summer playhouse, the Olney Theatre Center (OTC) has established itself as a beacon for the performing arts in Olney. Throughout its over eight-decade history the theatre has welcomed a plethora of classic American plays, musicals, actors, and playwrights. The Staging the Future Capital Campaign — one of the OTC’s most recent projects — began in 2020 to expand and broaden its capacity for community outreach and support of the arts. The campaign includes a full renovation of the 1938 Original Theatre and its exterior, as well as an addition of classrooms, studios, house production shops for future stagings, and outdoor theatres.

Set to complete renovations in the coming year, the OTC is preparing the theatre for a bright, bold future, and an exciting production season as the year unfolds. Since its start, the campaign has raised more than $32 million, just short of its $36 million goal. With its plans to “nurture the next generation,” the Staging the Future Campaign anticipates renovating multiple parts of the 14-acre property, including outdoor facilities and stages. Along with reducing their carbon footprint and increasing accessibility across the property, the OTC plans to revamp their courtyards and gathering spaces to “foster community connections.”

With over 300 performances a year, entertaining over 120,000 audience members, the OTC has made a name for itself as one of the greatest theatre centers in Maryland. Striving to make new connections and foster the next generation of young artists, the campaign will include several new teaching spaces, along with plans to expand outreach for community members. A dance studio and two classrooms will hopefully welcome after-school programs to meet high-demand. Among just some of the many renovations, the 1938 Original Theatre will be transformed into an interactive, modernized space that can be used for all types of events, not just theatre productions. “Imagine a fully-immersive production of a play or musical, a high school graduation, an important civic event, or a wedding,” said the theatre in a video introducing the Staging the Future campaign.

For the 2024-2025 season, the OTC will host a number of musicals and live performances, with several that illuminate the teenage experience. In the spring, plays like Sleepova and Senior Class will bring high school students’ stories to vivid life on stage, deep-diving into classic coming-of-age woes — friendship, love, life, and loss. Waitress, the hit Broadway musical, hit the theatre center’s stage in mid-February until the end of March.