Whether storytellers, magicians, improvisers, puppeteers, historical performers, or multi-genre musicians, our The National Theatre’s Community Stages artists are true masters of their craft. Click the links below to learn more about them and their work. Community Stages prioritizes partnerships with Children’s National Hospital and organizations serving older adults, but limited additional bookings may be available. To inquire, please reach out to Jared Strange, Director of Education and Community Programs, at education@nationaltheatre.org.
Alex and Olmsted are a married puppeteering duo hailing from Takoma Park MD. They have been making puppets together since 2010. Their original puppet show “Milo the Magnificent” was awarded a 2017 Jim Henson Foundation Grant and a Greenbelt Community Foundation Grant. Throughout the pandemic Alex and Olmsted have been making short puppet videos for their YouTube channel. They are also members of the Helen Hayes award-winning company Happenstance Theater with whom they have created 9 original shows.
You can learn more about Alex and Olmsted here.
Fast paced, comedic and spellbinding sorcery that leaves everyone happy and mystified: this is what magician Michael Chamberlin has been providing to audiences up and down the East Coast for 35 years. Stage magic, close-up sleight of hand and walk-around entertainment are all part of his repertoire. Michael treats every magic performance as a piece of theater that he invites the audience into to experience mystery, comedy and uncanny contemporary entertainment.
To learn more about Michael explore his website.
Variety is the Spice of Life is Frank’s motto!
Frank Plumer is a pianist, vocalist, and accordionist who has been a musician and performer from age the of 4. Frank has a passion for all styles of music including American standards, songs from around the world, Classical, Jazz, Broadway, Patriotic, Religious and Inspirational works that stand the test of time. In addition to English, Frank;s repertoire includes Italian, French, Spanish, Yiddish, Hebrew, German, Russian and Latin. Mr. Plumer brings happiness and joy to all of his audiences and his authenticity comes across!
In addition to performing solo, Frank also performs with his three children, Tony, Julia, and Cecilia, as The Musical Plumer Family. They present a blend of more serious works and lighter fare that has been entertaining audiences of all ages for many wonderful years!
Find more information on Frank here.
Donato Soranno and his chamber opera ensemble and group of international troubadours present a feast of entertaining Italian and Spanish folk songs, as well as selections from opera, musical theatre, religious and old-time favorites. Special programs are available for Christmas, Columbus Day, Valentine’s Day and other holidays. Toes will be tapping and audiences members humming along to beloved and happily remembered melodies.
Read more about Donato on his website.
Curtis Maillioux aka Curtis “Blues” is a teaching artist who preserves the tradition of American acoustic roots blues music. His shows include performances on instruments from Africa to rural America to show how popular music evolved. His one man band style of acoustic blues brings music history alive for audiences of all ages. You can learn more about Curtis here: http://www.curtisblues.com/
Mary Ann Jung is an award-winning actress who performs fun, interactive, and inspiring shows about amazing women in history. Ms. Jung researches and writes her own scripts, and performs in the authentic costumes, accents, and attitudes for her characters’ eras. History Alive! shows are appropriate for all ages –and have been enthusiastically received at many schools, senior centers, retirement homes and military bases. Mary Ann Jung’s amazing portraits of famous ladies and their times encourage a love of history, drama, and literature – in young and old alike!
You can learn more about Mary Ann Jung and her History Alive! Shows here: http://www.historyaliveshows.com/
The Washington Post describes Noa Baum as someone who “Spreads cultural truths that eclipse geopolitical boundaries…”. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Noa is an award-winning storyteller, author and public speaker. She offers a unique combination of performance art and practical workshops that focus on the power of stories to heal across the divides of identity and promote compassion and peace.
Drawing on the wisdom of many cultural traditions including her own Jewish heritage and personal experience, Noa’s stories highlight our similarities, celebrate our differences, and encourage curiosity, awareness, and acceptance.
Noa’s programs are custom designed for audiences of all ages, including adults, teens, seniors and families.
Author: A Land Twice Promised – An Israeli Woman’s Quest for Peace (adults and teens)
And on Audible.
New picture book: How the Birds Became Friends (ages 4 – 8)
Learn more about Noa’s stories on her website.
Alex and Olmsted (Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas) is an internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company based in Baltimore, Maryland. They have toured festivals in Italy, Denmark, South Korea, and Canada, and have performed at numerous venues within the United States including HERE Arts in New York, the Chopin Theater in Chicago, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Alex and Olmsted was awarded the 2020 State Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, the highest honor for performing artists in the State of Maryland. Their works have been supported by the Jim Henson Foundation and Mid Atlantic Arts, recognized by the New York Times, and named an official selection of the Maryland Film Festival, Paris Art Film, and others. Alex and Olmsted is a resident company at Baltimore Theatre Project. Vernon and Thomas are also proud company members of Happenstance Theater. www.alexandolmsted.com
Steven Gellman is a quintessential folk singer-songwriter. His songs tell stories of everyday life wrapped in notes that will have you humming along in a style that Billboard Magazine has described as “intensely sensitive and impressively intelligent at the same time.” Steve can perform solo or as a part of his band, The Steve Gellman Trio. He writes his own music and performs a wide repertoire of folk, country, Irish, and old time songs and loves to take requests. His latest album, All You Need, was released in 2024, and he recently earned the Silver Award in Bluegrass/Country at the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest for his song “Twenty-nine.”
Learn more about Steven Gellman here.
Baba Ras D, whose name means “Father of Kings and Queens“, is the creator of “Harambee.” Every presentation offers a creative atmosphere “where the children celebrate learning through movement and song.” In Swahili, Harambee means “All pull together.“ “Harambee” is the practice of hope, possibility and compassion — basically, all the things that happen when we all come together. With more than 10 years of experience in youth development, education, and conflict resolution, Baba Ras D’s “Harambee” is a morning jolt of inspiration for parents, caregivers and children.
You can learn more about Baba Ras D and Harambee here: https://babarasd.com/
“The Beat Goes On” is a rhythm enrichment program co-facilitated by artists Alan Yellowitz and Adam Mason who have been working in Rhythm Therapy since 2009. Their programs utilize evidence based research to encourage participants to engage both physically and mentally through rhythmic drumming. Both Adam and Alan have completed the Remo Health Rhythms program and are trained Health Rhythm Facilitators.
You can learn more about The Beat Goes On artists Alan Yellowitz and Adam Mason here.
Melanie Edwards is an award-winning singer, songwriter, pianist, violinist and music practitioner. She holds a master’s in media and performing arts from The Savannah College of Art and Design and was awarded the Artistic Achievement Fellowship to secure her MFA in Performing Arts there. Furthermore, she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar Nominee at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she secured a BA in broadcast journalism, furthering her news career as a Carolina Week Reporter and later becoming a weather anchor for local news in eastern North Carolina. Likewise, she was the NCSU’s Department of Nuclear Engineering Investigators’ Program Award Recipient in Nuclear Technology at NC State University where she focused on nuclear physics. Additionally, she holds a BA in Spanish from Universidad de España, in Sevilla, Spain. Melanie is certified in Mental Health First Aid USA by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and has 29 years experience as a performing artist and expressive, musical healer with several partner charities and organizations, such as: National Theatre DC and Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. In addition, she is the resident pianist for St. Regis Washington DC, The Willard and has performed at Gypsy Sally’s, The Henley Park Hotel, Beacon Bar and Grill and Peruvian Ambassador Castilla’s Residence in Washington, DC. In the wake of the pandemic, she humbly received a grant from the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs and MusiCares for the CoVid-19 Relief Fund, a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities (CAH) and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in addition to a DC Small Business Recovery Microgrant gifted by Mayor Bowser and the DMPED, an award by TheatreWashington and a is a FY21 Relief and Recovery Fund (RRF) Grant Recipient via DC (CAH).
Learn more about Melanie on her website.
Happenstance Theater, founded in 2006, is a professional company committed to devising, producing and touring original, performer-created visual, poetic Theatre. Under the artistic direction of Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell Happenstance Theater harvests imagery from the past and re-contextualizes it in performances that address eternal themes of life, death, and the ephemeral. With the simplest means – movement, silence, theatrical clown, music, text, physical comedy and beauty – they seek to elevate the moment when the performers and audience meet, to lift the encounter beyond the daily and pedestrian into the realms of dreams, poetry, and art. Meaning is often discovered by happenstance.
They have performed their shows Pinot and Augustine, and Diz and Izzy, for the Community Stage Connections program. You can learn more about their works here.
Lisa Jan Sherman is an Improv Acting teacher, Cognitive Skills coach, and Kids Storyteller. She’s been a member of AFTRA/SAG for over 35 years performing in, television, film, radio and stage. Lisa received a B.A. in Theatre and Speech from UMD. She had a successful 27-year run as a founding member of ’NOW THIS’ Improvisational Musical Comedy troupe. Lisa co/developed the ‘ACT AS IF’ program for social communication skills, and co/wrote the companion book. She enjoys facilitating ‘Brilliant Moments’ workshops, as well as ‘UnClogging Your Brain’ at the Writers Center. Lisa is proud to be a Teaching Artist with The National Theatre Foundation. Currently, she’s writing the musical ‘Fern Fiddlehead & Fronds’ which portrays the empathic and magical bond between humans and animals.
You can learn more about “Act As If” here.
Consisting of Fred Nelson, Roger Williams, and Mike Ritter, Three Boys Night Out is a Folk, Bluegrass, and Old-Time Country band. They have been performing with the Community Stage Connections program since its inception. You can learn more about Three Boys Night Out on their Facebook page.