Human Race Theatre Company

The Human Race Theatre Company is the professional producing theatre company of Dayton Ohio, dedicated to producing works on universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us all into a renewed awareness of ourselves. The HRTC is located in The Metropolitan Arts Building in downtown Dayton. The 212-seat Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, Ohio[1] serves as its home base, though it also stages one production each year in the 1,100-seat historic Victoria Theatre on their Broadway series.

2016 Logo

The Human Race has put on more than 160 productions since its inception in 1986, and has an extensive theatre education program that annually serves more than 30,000 children and adults throughout southwestern Ohio.

Notable productions have included:

  • A newly re-imagined production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, featuring a cast of ten actors and using one piano, during the 2012-2013 season
  • Another new musical from Gregg Coffin (Convenience, Five Course Love) the sung-thru right next to me, our 2011 production was the next step after staged reading in 2010
  • The fall 2010 production of August: Osage County produced in collaboration with Wright State University's Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures
  • The fall 2007 production of a new Stephen Schwartz piece entitled Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, with book by David Stern
  • The 2004 world premiere of Barry Kleinbort and Joseph Thalken's musical Was

The Human Race Theatre Company is noted for its Musical Theatre Workshops, staged readings of new works, which began in 2000[2]

Current and Recent Productions

2016-2017 Eichelberger Loft Series

  • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - A Musical Thriller with music, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, directed by Scott Stoney. September 8 - October 2, 2016.
  • Hail Mary! by Tom Dudzick, directed by Margarett Perry. November 3–20, 2016.
  • The Santaland Diaries! Book by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello, directed by Scott Stoney. December 8–17, 2016.
  • World Premiere 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa, directed by Igor Goldin. February 2–19, 2017.
  • On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson, directed by Richard E. Hess. April 6–23, 2017
  • World Premiere TO BE ANNOUNCED JUNE 2017.

History

In 1986, the original founders - Suzy Bassani, Sara Exley, and Caryl Philips - gathered together a handful of founding artists to represent the new company. These members included Marsha Hanna, Scott Stoney, Sheila Ramsey, Michael Lippert, Bob Hetherington, and Tony Dallas. Kevin Moore was the very first employee, serving as Executive Director from 1986 - 2011. In 2010, Moore and Hanna were the first arts team to be given the Ohio Governor's Award for Arts Administration. After the untimely passing of Marsha Hanna in 2011, Moore was named Producing Artistic Director.

The Human Race Theatre Company Board of Trustees, the Artistic Director Search Committee, and current Executive Director, Kappy Kilburn, are pleased to announce the appointment of Emily N. Wells as the next Artistic Director. She will be the fourth Artistic Director in the company’s 35 years, following founding Artistic Director Suzy Bassani in 1986, who passed the torch to founding member Marsha Hanna in 1993. Kevin Moore will officially leave the company retiring in June 2022.

They moved into its first location, 13,000 square feet of space at 210 North Main Street on the second floor of the historic Biltmore Towers The Dayton Biltmore Hotel later joined by The Muse Machine, a nationally celebrated arts education organization. The Human Race Theatre Company with The Muse Machine moved into their current location in the Metropolitan Arts Center (The MAC) in 1991 operated by the Victoria Theatre Association, now known as Dayton Live. The Muse Machine sublet the Biltmore space to the upstart non-profit The Co. then known as Dayton Visual Arts Center.

Surviving the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic shuttered venue doors The Human Race Theatre awaited approval of the Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operational Grant in 2021. Kilburn says she saw a 92 percent loss in revenue in 2020 and needs the grant to offset costs since Human Race Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization.

“As a self-producing organization, we bear the brunt of the expenses before we even see our first audience members,” Kilburn said. “We’re having to pay the contracts upfront, we’re having to license the work upfront, and we’re having to build everything.”

References
  1. Loft Theatre Series
  2. "Musical Theatre Workshop". Archived from the original on 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2012-12-11.

Official Website

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