Next season, Baltimore audiences won't lack for cutting-edge shows that explore adventurous themes and nontraditional storytelling techniques.
Both Rep Stage and Single Carrot Theatre have selected for their 2010-2011 season shows that either are rarely produced or represent Baltimore premieres.
"It's a season of imaginative and spiritual odysseys," says Michael Stebbins, Rep Stage's producing artistic director. "Even when we've chosen to stage classics, they're a bit more obscure. We hope to get people into the theater who haven't been there before."
Rep Stage's 2010-2011 season features:
• "Travels with My Aunt" by Graham Greene, Aug. 25-Sept. 12. This is the only show in either group that could accurately be described as an old favorite. And yet this show, based on Greene's well-known 1969 novel, has a distinctly modern flair, with four male actors portraying 25 characters, including the main character's eccentric Aunt Augusta.
• "The New World" and "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" by J.M. Barrie, Oct. 6-24. Both of these short works by Barrie, the author of "Peter Pan," were written in 1917 and are based on the broader theme of war. Despite the grim-sounding subject matter, they actually are big-hearted comedies. This will be Rep Stage's largest production of the season, with a cast of nine and elaborate sets.
•"An Almost Holy Picture" by Heather McDonald, Feb. 2-20. This one-actor show written by McDonald, a Catonsville playwright, was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize and had a brief run on Broadway that starred Kevin Bacon. Stebbins will portray the former priest-turned-groundskeeper who is still trying to follow the voice of God.
•"Speech and Debate" by Stephen Karam, April 13-May 1. This dark comedy, with elements of song and dance, was an off-Broadway hit. Three high school students who discover that a popular teacher is involved in an online sex scandal conspire to bring about his downfall through a series of speech and debate classes.
Season tickets to Rep Stage cost $52-$96 and can be purchased by calling 410-772-4900 or by visiting repstage.org.
Single Carrot's offerings for next season include:
•"Natural Selection" by Eric Coble, Sept. 29-Oct. 31. Executive director Elliott Rauh describes this biting comedy as "Epcot Center gone wrong on steroids." The action takes place at a theme park where the Native American pavilion is running low on full-blooded representatives of America's original settlers.
• "The Other Shore" by Gao Xingjian, Dec. 8-Jan. 16. Ensemble members Buck Jabaily and Brendan Ragan fell in love in college with Gao, the only Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Single Carrot troupe is employing its first Equity actor in the title role.
•"The Long Christmas Ride Home," March 16-April 17. Playwright Paul Vogel stages many of her works in or around Baltimore. This play, which explores the lasting effects of sexual trauma, is set in the northern Maryland suburbs and uses Bunraku-inspired puppetry.
• "Linus & Alora," June 8-July 10. Young, up-and-coming playwright Andrew Irons creates a daydream world of shooting stars and fantasy family members in this piece, which includes such multimedia elements as video projections and extensive use of music.
Subscription and membership packages cost $35-$125.Call 443-844-9253 or go to singlecarrot.com.