Harman Center for the Arts

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Currently under construction, the Harman Center for the Arts will house Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre Company while extending its performance spaces to other local arts groups in hopes of broadening Washington’s appeal as an arts scene. The Harman Center will consist of the Lansburgh Theatre and the soon-to-be-completed Sidney Harman Hall.

The completion of the Harman Center will allow the Shakespeare Theatre Company to expand its season to seven plays, four at Sidney Harman Hall and three at its current location, the Lansburgh Theatre, in addition to the Company’s annual Free For All at Rock Creek Park’s Carter Barron Amphitheatre. Sidney Harman Hall will have multiple stage configurations making it adaptable to the needs of each performance. The Harman Center will make it possible to develop the existing Shakespeare Theatre Company educational programs in order to reach even more local students. Performances and programs will be made more accessible with the availability of discounted tickets.

The Lansburgh Theatre is located at 450 7th Street in northwest Washington, and Sidney Harman Hall, where construction began in November of 2004, is located nearby at Sixth and F Streets.

The Harman Center for the Arts is named for the Harman family and Shakespeare Theatre Company Board of Trustees member Sidney Harman. Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, will serve as Artistic Director of the Harman Center for the Arts. The theater was designed by Jack Diamond and the building which houses the theater was designed by Paul Beckmann of the DC firm Smithgroup.