{"id":317265,"date":"2020-04-21T06:33:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T10:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=317265"},"modified":"2020-04-21T06:33:34","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T10:33:34","slug":"the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is said that the best actors know how to improvise\u2014and a group of DMV-area performers is doing just that, by forming a fully online theater company from the ashes of Baltimore live performance. Yes, they are adapting well to change, but The Pandemic Players’<\/a> mission also fits in with a wonderful emerging trend\u2014artists making art to help others who are struggling. For each performance, the group partners with an existing theater company to raise funds for them during the COVID-19 shutdown.<\/p>\n

\"Pandemic
Pandemic Players performs to benefit Silhouette Stages April 25, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This self-described “temporary” organization, founded by Stephen Deininger<\/a> and other prominent Baltimore actors, focuses on free live theatrical performances of beloved classic plays. In return, they request small donations from audiences at home. At the beginning of each week, volunteers submit nominations and vote on which theater to support. Afterward, casting begins, rehearsals commence, and the final performance occurs at 7:00 PM that Saturday. So far, The Pandemic Players have performed Dear Brutus<\/em>, A Midsummer Night’s Dream<\/em>, and Six Characters in Search of an Author\u2014<\/em>all streamed online from separate locations in keeping with social distancing guidelines. Their next production, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House<\/em>\u00a0April 25, 2020, supports Silhouette Stages<\/a> of Howard County. All performances are available to stream from The Pandemic Players YouTube page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Pandemic Players’ artist-led efforts are making a difference on a larger scale as well. Their fundraising initiative is making its mark on the community by inspiring corporate donors to make more grant funding available to the arts sector. They also advocate for local artists and arts organizations with the Maryland State Arts Council<\/a>. In addition, they plan to educate Baltimore community theaters on content creation, online fundraising, script selection\/procurement, and the use of internet technologies. To date, The Pandemic Players have raised over $7,500 in donations to Spotlighters Theatre<\/a>, Fells Point Corner Theater<\/a>, The Children\u2019s Theater of Annapolis<\/a>, Laurel Mill Playhouse<\/a>, and The Strand Theater Company<\/a>. You can support them by liking and following their Facebook page<\/a>, streaming their plays<\/a>, and donating to their production partners.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pandemic Players<\/strong> is driven by respect for community, volunteers, the rights of authors and artists, and a passion for the life-changing power of the medium of live theater. They are committed to supporting the community, both through live broadcasts, and through finding innovative solutions as everyone adapts to a difficult situation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tax-deductible donations can be made to each theater through production-specific fundraisers on the Pandemic Players Facebook page<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is said that the best actors know how to improvise\u2014and a group of DMV-area performers is doing just that, by forming a fully online theater company from the ashes of Baltimore live performance. Yes, they are adapting well to change, but The Pandemic Players’ mission also fits in with a wonderful emerging trend\u2014artists making […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":317271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[588,14,1768,17,4,14302],"tags":[2876,14299,14301,53130],"class_list":{"0":"post-317265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore","8":"category-community-theater","9":"category-fundraisers","10":"category-maryland","11":"category-news","12":"category-online-offerings","13":"tag-baltimore-theater","14":"tag-covid-19","15":"tag-online-offerings","16":"tag-the-pandemic-players"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New online company raises funds and stirs community action\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New online company raises funds and stirs community action\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-21T10:33:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Megan Wills\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Megan Wills\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/\",\"name\":\"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-21T10:33:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4d73c22b6eb2177e32299b2f967af000\"},\"description\":\"New online company raises funds and stirs community action\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4d73c22b6eb2177e32299b2f967af000\",\"name\":\"Megan Wills\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/cropped-MeganWillsHeadshot-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/cropped-MeganWillsHeadshot-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Megan Wills\"},\"description\":\"Megan serves as marketing, advertising, and scheduling manager at DCTA. She brings many years of theater and nonprofit administration experience with her. Along with writing and editing, she loves teaching, coaching, acting, singing, comedy, improvisation, and animals. She co-founded Charm City Comedy in 2014.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/megan-wills\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters - DC Theater Arts","description":"New online company raises funds and stirs community action","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters","og_description":"New online company raises funds and stirs community action","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2020-04-21T10:33:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Megan Wills","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Megan Wills","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/","name":"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-21T10:33:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4d73c22b6eb2177e32299b2f967af000"},"description":"New online company raises funds and stirs community action","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Pandemic-Players-logo-800x600-1.jpg","width":800,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2020\/04\/21\/the-pandemic-players-offer-a-helping-hand-to-baltimore-theaters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Pandemic Players offer a helping hand to Baltimore theaters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4d73c22b6eb2177e32299b2f967af000","name":"Megan Wills","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/cropped-MeganWillsHeadshot-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/cropped-MeganWillsHeadshot-96x96.jpg","caption":"Megan Wills"},"description":"Megan serves as marketing, advertising, and scheduling manager at DCTA. She brings many years of theater and nonprofit administration experience with her. Along with writing and editing, she loves teaching, coaching, acting, singing, comedy, improvisation, and animals. She co-founded Charm City Comedy in 2014.","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/megan-wills\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}