The Venus Theatre is a major American regional theater

Community theatre

Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...

 in Laurel

Laurel, Maryland

Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. The theater was founded by Deborah Randall in 2001. The theatrical company is currently the largest production company in Maryland focussed primarily on the retelling and adaptation of classics. Past productions have won the Maryland Theatrical Association's Best Drama Prize in 2002 and 2005. The current musical director is Alan Scott.

Recent productions include Shakespeare's Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...

and On Thin Ice. The theater's annual "retro-classic" new works series for 2009 is scheduled to feature Chris Wind's Not Such Stuff, Julia Homokay's Homokay's Medea, Vanda's Why'd Ya Make Me Wear This, Joe, and Jacob M. Appel

Jacob M. Appel

Jacob M. Appel is an American author, bioethicist and social critic. He is best known for his short stories, his work as a playwright, and his writing in the fields of reproductive ethics, organ donation, neuroethics and euthanasia....

's Helen of Sparta

External links

• Venus Theatre official website