Welcome to Our Space!
Our black box performance studio in the Old North End
is built for for shows, rehearsals and events.
294 North Winooski Ave., Suite 116A, Burlington, VT 05401
is built for for shows, rehearsals and events.
294 North Winooski Ave., Suite 116A, Burlington, VT 05401
Do you like technical theatre? Do you want to make a great space better? Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington is looking for an artist/technician/wizard with passion for accessible performance space to join us as our volunteer technical director.
OC is a volunteer artist-run non-profit that operates a fully equipped black box theatre space in Burlington’s Old North End. We exist to provide local and touring artists an affordable performance space for small audience shows that has solid theatrical lighting and sound support.
Joining us as our volunteer Technical Director means working with the executive and board to maintain and enhance our technical capacity. There will be hands-on work helping OC volunteers maintain our equipment, as well as helping design better systems and configurations to improve what we have. You will also advise the executive on budgeting for our technical needs. You have the option to join the board if you wish. There are no set volunteer hours, just a commitment to help us keep OC running smoothly. We have a simple but useful tech set-up, and we want someone who sees its potential to come play with it.
This is a fun opportunity to technically lead a small theatre space. It would be great for a recent graduate looking to add leadership resume experience, a community member who likes to tinker with theatrical lighting/sound, an established technician who wants to contribute to making theatre space affordable for everyone.
If you are interested, drop Laura an email at [email protected], and let’s talk.
OC is a volunteer artist-run non-profit that operates a fully equipped black box theatre space in Burlington’s Old North End. We exist to provide local and touring artists an affordable performance space for small audience shows that has solid theatrical lighting and sound support.
Joining us as our volunteer Technical Director means working with the executive and board to maintain and enhance our technical capacity. There will be hands-on work helping OC volunteers maintain our equipment, as well as helping design better systems and configurations to improve what we have. You will also advise the executive on budgeting for our technical needs. You have the option to join the board if you wish. There are no set volunteer hours, just a commitment to help us keep OC running smoothly. We have a simple but useful tech set-up, and we want someone who sees its potential to come play with it.
This is a fun opportunity to technically lead a small theatre space. It would be great for a recent graduate looking to add leadership resume experience, a community member who likes to tinker with theatrical lighting/sound, an established technician who wants to contribute to making theatre space affordable for everyone.
If you are interested, drop Laura an email at [email protected], and let’s talk.
Hello Friends,
There have been many shocking and scary disruptions to our daily lives this spring. The way Vermonters care for each other in times of trouble helps a lot. Facing the uncertainty of the future is our next challenge.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak in March, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts was growing as a community resource and enjoying our best year for spring show bookings to date. Looking ahead, however, we do not know what theatre and performance will look like in the coming year. We need to choose a path forward.
The choice is: maintaining our current venue by creating new ways to serve our community’s needs during this crisis with support to keep the infrastructure intact, or closing the venue, ceasing physical operations and searching for a new home to rebuild in the future. We need your help to decide what comes next.
The considerations are both financial and creative. A non-profit venue powered by our community of volunteers, we keep overhead costs as low as possible - the current Off Center venue can run efficiently for under $1700 a month. Keeping the space open and available for any project that respects recommended health guidelines is possible, with support and backing to keep us solvent. Yet if the space sits idle due to the uncertainty, it might be more useful to pack up our gear, hibernate for a time, and seek new space and funding in the future when traditional public gatherings and audience confidence resume. It depends entirely on what our community needs.
We cannot afford to maintain the space indefinitely without sustaining support and a community interested in using it.
Please help us with this decision. The Off Center Board put together a brief (3 minute) community survey to collect the thoughts and opinions of the performing arts community and the friends of Off Center. Your perspective is important to us.
The Off Center Community Survey is available HERE.
Thank you for your thoughts. Your support makes this tough volunteer job a joy and a blessing.
In health and happiness,
Laura Roald
President, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts
There have been many shocking and scary disruptions to our daily lives this spring. The way Vermonters care for each other in times of trouble helps a lot. Facing the uncertainty of the future is our next challenge.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak in March, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts was growing as a community resource and enjoying our best year for spring show bookings to date. Looking ahead, however, we do not know what theatre and performance will look like in the coming year. We need to choose a path forward.
The choice is: maintaining our current venue by creating new ways to serve our community’s needs during this crisis with support to keep the infrastructure intact, or closing the venue, ceasing physical operations and searching for a new home to rebuild in the future. We need your help to decide what comes next.
The considerations are both financial and creative. A non-profit venue powered by our community of volunteers, we keep overhead costs as low as possible - the current Off Center venue can run efficiently for under $1700 a month. Keeping the space open and available for any project that respects recommended health guidelines is possible, with support and backing to keep us solvent. Yet if the space sits idle due to the uncertainty, it might be more useful to pack up our gear, hibernate for a time, and seek new space and funding in the future when traditional public gatherings and audience confidence resume. It depends entirely on what our community needs.
We cannot afford to maintain the space indefinitely without sustaining support and a community interested in using it.
Please help us with this decision. The Off Center Board put together a brief (3 minute) community survey to collect the thoughts and opinions of the performing arts community and the friends of Off Center. Your perspective is important to us.
The Off Center Community Survey is available HERE.
Thank you for your thoughts. Your support makes this tough volunteer job a joy and a blessing.
In health and happiness,
Laura Roald
President, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts
We are booking now for spring and summer
The new Off Center Black Box Studio is available for rental.
Can't wait to see you in our new playground!
Keeping Local Arts Alive During COVID-19
Dear Friends,
As a community center for independent performance and creation, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts is deeply concerned with the safety and well-being of our artists, patrons and volunteers. Joining the efforts of fellow performance venues in the Burlington arts community to reduce the harms of COVID-19, there will be no public events held at Off Center for the rest of March.
This includes the cancellation of the March edition of our monthly new work reading series Playmakers, scheduled for Monday March 16, and the auditions for Theasters Theatre’s production of Red and Blue All Over scheduled for March 18. They will be accepting submissions by video instead. For more information on those amended auditions, contact [email protected]
Monkey Man, the one-woman show about family, schizophrenia and being on the road written and performed by Dana Block is cancelling the March 26-28 run. This exciting show will be rescheduled, and we will announce the new dates as soon as possible.
We will continue to monitor the quickly-changing public health situation very closely, and work with all artists booked for shows and events in April to determine if they will go forward. We will reschedule all cancelled shows, workshops and events without penalty. We support artists who are making difficult decisions.
At this time, the Spring Open Artist Showcase, which runs April 22-May 2, will run as planned. If circumstances change, we will postpone the festival to later in the year.
Thank you all for your continuing support of Off Center. This is traditionally our busiest season, and we are very sad to go dark, even for a few weeks. This closure and the possibility of future cancellations will have a significant financial impact. As a volunteer artist-run non-profit theatre venue, we do not have deep reserves. Every small amount helps. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue through these dark days, and ensure that grass-roots theatre will continue to have a home when this storm has passed.
Vermont Artists: Why not use this unplanned break from performance to dream up the next great show to take America by storm? Book a rehearsal, workshop or production slot for later this year!
We are proud to be part of a beautiful and strong creative community.
Take care of each other.
And wash your hands.
Sending everyone positive thoughts for a safe journey through this challenge,
Laura Roald
Board President, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts
As a community center for independent performance and creation, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts is deeply concerned with the safety and well-being of our artists, patrons and volunteers. Joining the efforts of fellow performance venues in the Burlington arts community to reduce the harms of COVID-19, there will be no public events held at Off Center for the rest of March.
This includes the cancellation of the March edition of our monthly new work reading series Playmakers, scheduled for Monday March 16, and the auditions for Theasters Theatre’s production of Red and Blue All Over scheduled for March 18. They will be accepting submissions by video instead. For more information on those amended auditions, contact [email protected]
Monkey Man, the one-woman show about family, schizophrenia and being on the road written and performed by Dana Block is cancelling the March 26-28 run. This exciting show will be rescheduled, and we will announce the new dates as soon as possible.
We will continue to monitor the quickly-changing public health situation very closely, and work with all artists booked for shows and events in April to determine if they will go forward. We will reschedule all cancelled shows, workshops and events without penalty. We support artists who are making difficult decisions.
At this time, the Spring Open Artist Showcase, which runs April 22-May 2, will run as planned. If circumstances change, we will postpone the festival to later in the year.
Thank you all for your continuing support of Off Center. This is traditionally our busiest season, and we are very sad to go dark, even for a few weeks. This closure and the possibility of future cancellations will have a significant financial impact. As a volunteer artist-run non-profit theatre venue, we do not have deep reserves. Every small amount helps. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue through these dark days, and ensure that grass-roots theatre will continue to have a home when this storm has passed.
Vermont Artists: Why not use this unplanned break from performance to dream up the next great show to take America by storm? Book a rehearsal, workshop or production slot for later this year!
We are proud to be part of a beautiful and strong creative community.
Take care of each other.
And wash your hands.
Sending everyone positive thoughts for a safe journey through this challenge,
Laura Roald
Board President, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts
Archive 2020
Free Community Lighting Design Workshop
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Saturday, March 7 - 2-4 p.m.
Come learn the basic principles of theatrical lighting design, and learn to program and operate the new Colorsource 20 lighting console at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts. Newcomers and Off Center regulars all welcome! If you can't make it, don't fret! We will be offering these free workshops on a rolling and ongoing basis. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get the latest information! |
PLAYMAKERS
the monthly local play reading series
Monday, February 17, 7:30 p.m.
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Join us for our monthly evening of free play readings and performance testing. This month features works-in-progress by:
Margery Sharp Meredith Gordon Laura Roald and... AN EXPERIMENT. Come out this Monday to see what's new and cooking in the minds of Vermont Playmakers! |
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STEALING FROM WORK: FROM RUSSIA WITH LIKES
written by Angie Albeck and Marianne DiMascio
February 5-9
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Stealing from Work is back with a full show of brand new sketch comedy written by Angie Albeck and Marianne DiMascio.
Join actors Chris Caswell, Marianne DiMascio, Amy Halpin Riley, Alex S. Hudson, Jory Raphael,and Geeda Searfoorce as they take on extraordinary characters and unexpected circumstances. Directed by Seth Jarvis, each sketch takes on a different theme, ranging from the satirical to the purely wacky. With sound and video design by Jess Wilson, Stealing from Work’s production immerses you in a dozen different worlds, all in the comfort of a black box theater at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts. |
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TICKETS: 15$
Note: Tickets for Wednesday, February 5th are "pay what you can" and are only available at the door. Dates:
Wednesday, February 5- Friday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 8 at 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 9 at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. |
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The mission of Off Center for the Dramatic Arts is to provide an affordable theater space which supports experimentation, education and engagement for artists, audiences and the community. |
Off Center for the Dramatic Arts is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts
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