As I watched the Arena Players dance ensemble move across the stage during rehearsal for their production of Lee Breuer’s “The Gospel at Colonus,” I never would have guessed that two of its members did not have traditional dance training. Dezra Lloyd and Angel Harvin seemed to glide across the stage with the confidence of seasoned dancers. They were able to hit their marks, roll, and tumble across the stage with ease, and also give each other notes and directions on how to really land or accentuate a movement.
Community theaters like Arena Players facilitate community building, providing people with space to try new and brave things, to further develop their sense of self, and to step out of their comfort zones, as Harvin and Lloyd do as members of the dance ensemble.
Established in September 1953, Arena Players Inc. (then Arena Playhouse, or “The House”) was created as a space for Black actors to play parts that offered more than the butlers, maids, and mammy figures that they were able to portray at other stages during that time. The group came together at Coppin State University and performed at various locations around Baltimore, from the Druid Hill YMCA to the Great Hall Theater of St. Mary’s Church, before finding a home at 406 Orchard Street in the ‘60s. They then moved to their current location at 801 McCulloh Street in the 1970s.
Those involved in Arena Players take immense pride in the talent that has circulated through the theater, from André De Shields to Verna Day-Jones. Operations Manager and Youtheater Director Catherine Orange, with collaboration from the late Robert F. Chew (best known for his role as Proposition Joe in HBO’s “The Wire”), has been able to secure various roles in TV and film for younger actors who have come through Arena Players. “The lady from the casting company used to call and say, ‘You have any other kids like that? They were the best kids.’”
But not everyone at a community theater like Arena Players wants to become a professional. Other former cast and crew members have gone on to become teachers, doctors, and lawyers. “It teaches, because they learn all of the elements of theater: discipline, focus, and dedication. Which is why some of them go off to be great doctors, lawyers, teachers,” said Owens about how the theater played a role in the lives of those who have walked the halls of Arena Players.
The star of the current show at The Arena Players, Edward Bryant Jr., is also a first-timer. He was encouraged by a friend to audition for the show, which he did despite some trepidation, and landed the lead role. And the support and encouragement he’s gotten from director Bernard Johnson and the other seasoned cast members gave him “the willingness to want to do better,” despite his initial uncertainty.
But while the theater welcomes first-timers like Bryant, others have been involved with Arena Players for much of their lives. Stage manager Pamela Sparks has been a part of the theater community here in one capacity or another since the age of 12. “When I came down here, I was a shy, timid child … who would cry if you looked at me too hard. And so I like to credit the Arena Players for the person that I have become now,” she said. “I am a stronger, more confident, better person because of the experiences that I’ve had down here.”
“The seasoned ones learned from the newcomers, and the newcomers learn from the seasoned ones,” said artistic director Donald Owens. The newcomers, he said, “bring things that you have forgotten, or you’ve been trained out of.”
“The seasoned ones learned from the newcomers, and the newcomers learn from the seasoned ones.”
artistic director Donald Owens
Johnson, the director of “Gospel,” also has a long, if less direct, relationship with the theater. “I’ve been coming here as a kid because one of my neighbors’ granddaughters performed here, and my sister’s high school dance teacher was a choreographer here,” he said, noting that “this is my first time working with them.”
The myth of Oedipus finds new life in “The Gospel at Colonus,” an African American musical adaptation of Sophocles’ “Oedipus at Colonus” that reframes the Greek tragedy through the lens of a Pentecostal church service. The 1983 work transforms ancient prophecy into modern testimonial and presents suffering not as the endpoint but a path to spiritual excellence. Structured as a communal act of worship, the production invites the audience to witness as a broken man seeks grace, lifted by a gospel choir.
“When we were doing our readthrough, we were talking a lot about the family dynamics and Black families and things, and how parallel the heightened feelings of it draws to the Greek family drama, which this is based on,” says Johnson. “All the themes are very prevalent and relevant to families today.”
In his role as Oedipus, Bryant is less of a tragic king than a living sermon, his pain transformed, carrying the weight of prophecy while seeking redemption through song and testimony. His beautiful, richly textured voice and commanding stage presence ground the production’s portrayal of church service. Offstage, Bryant’s teacherly warmth and quiet kindness mirror the spirit of the work itself, reinforcing the sense that Oedipus is not only a figure to be witnessed, but one who guides the congregation towards collective understanding and grace.
Though not quite as old as the ancient source material of its most recent play, Arena Players has a history in the city going back more than 70 years now.
Both Owens and Orange came through the Arena Players as actors themselves, with great encouragement from founder Samuel H. Wilson, whose energy was focused on growing, encouraging, and even sometimes throwing somewhat unwilling artists into the spotlight. The energy continues to draw individuals like Bryant, who plays Oedipus, to the Arena Players.
“A lot of our artists, while they are very skilled at what they do, this isn’t their day-to-day,’” said Johnson. “It feels really fresh what we’re all creating. Everybody is bringing new ideas and perspectives to what we’re working on.”
Arena Players has never really closed its doors to the public during its long history. “That’s a part of our mantra: ‘Never close,’” Orange said. “We didn’t close during COVID. Even though we didn’t have a lot of audience, we still did stuff, you know? We had a period of time where we didn’t have air, we didn’t have heat, but we didn’t close. We figured out a way to stay in here and do the work. So that’s why it’s so important.” The mantra reflects a 70-year commitment to staying present, creating, and serving the community.
But at the end of July, for the first time in 70 years, Area Players is tentatively scheduled to temporarily pause public performances for approximately six to eight weeks while the theater undergoes essential renovations. Planned upgrades to Arena Players include the installation of LED lighting, improvements to the lighting and audio systems, and updates to the stage, which will be reshaped. Backstage renovations will include the addition of a ceiling to properly separate floors. The theater will also be updated to improve ADA compliance and provide better wheelchair access.
And, perhaps most importantly to returning patrons, Arena Players will improve its seats. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, have you all changed those seats yet? Those seats are off. The shows are good. The shows are excellent, but the seats,’” Orange said.
As the company prepares for its first-ever pause in services, joyful moments like the ones I witness when the actors giggle together on stage as they rehearse the same scenes at various speeds to ensure synchronicity serve as an indicator that the spirit of the theater will remain unchanged. The building may be updated, but the heart of Arena Players, sustained by artists who treat the theater as both craft and community, has never stopped beating.
The building may be updated, but the heart of Arena Players, sustained by artists who treat the theater as both craft and community, has never stopped beating.
“The theater and Arena players, to me, have always been hard, fun work. And the thing with it is that it’s hard, H-A-R-D, and it’s fun, but your H-E-A-R-T has to be in it. Then you become like a family.” Owens says.
“The Gospel at Colonus” will run through February 8.