Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) is expanding its footprint in Gallery Place/Chinatown and moving its headquarters to 718 7^th Street, NW, the theatre’s Board of Trustees Chair, Anita Antenucci, announced today. The new location is across the street from Capital One Arena’s west entrance and will be the site of STC’s headquarters, bringing the majority of the theatre’s staff to the neighborhood under one roof and closer to its two performance venues, Harman Hall (610 F Street NW) and Klein Theatre (450 7^th Street NW).

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Simon Godwin and Executive Director Angela Lee Gieras, the new headquarters will house the Tony Award-winning theatre’s administrative and artistic offices, learning programs, rehearsal halls, and costume shop. It will also become home to the STC Academy, currently housed at George Washington University. STC’s scene shop, located in an industrial area of Northeast D.C., will remain in its current location. STC’s current administrative and rehearsal spaces on Barracks Row will be sold.

Monument Realty purchased the building and will own, manage, and offer for lease the building’s ground floor and lower-level retail spaces. STC has acquired the office portion of the building pursuant to a condominium regime from Monument, following Monument’s purchase of the full building. The search for the new space and purchase was facilitated by JM Zell Partners, Ltd, and a group of STC Board members.

“This move has been a long time coming, as we have searched for just the right property to support the growth of our expanding and ambitious artistic mission, as well as to bring more of our staff together under one roof,” said Ms. Antenucci. “We are excited to continue our part in revitalizing this thriving neighborhood, alongside such neighbors as Monumental Sports, and their ongoing efforts to bring new energy to Gallery Place.”

STC selected OTJ Architects to lead the design for necessary renovations that will best support the needs of the company and engaged JM Zell Partners, Ltd. as project manager. “We are looking forward to having a central location be the creative factory for STC,” said Ms. Gieras. “Our focus will be on creating larger rehearsal spaces that better mimic the footprints of our theatres, designing a more current costume shop, and realizing the best working flow for our staff. We anticipate that the full renovation will be complete in 2026, with some facilities moving into the neighborhood sooner.”

“While we have treasured being part of the Capitol Hill community, STC’s administrative home for nearly 30 years and a legacy space when I arrived in D.C., it is an exciting opportunity to bring our staff closer together, to have updated spaces with room to grow, and to ease the process of moving between administrative and performance venues for both staff and visiting artists,” said Mr. Godwin.

It has long been a goal of STC to find a new space that would allow for staff growth, better support the artistic team’s rehearsal needs, and bring its programming into one location. A previous project was proposed in Southwest D.C.; however, planning shifted after the Covid-19 pandemic, changing the scope of the developer’s project, and that location no longer supported STC’s needs.

STC has been a presence in Gallery Place/Chinatown since the Klein Theatre opened in the Lansburgh building in 1992, placing the organization at the forefront of the neighborhood’s revitalization. That space was joined by Harman Hall in 2007, creating a performing arts campus that is a destination for many visitors.

718 7^th Street NW will be the third location for STC’s administrative offices in its 40-year history. Administrative offices were first located at the Folger Shakespeare Library (301 E. Capitol Street) from 1986 to 1998. In late 1997, STC purchased 516 8^th Street SE, a four-story Victorian building on Barracks Row, where they have been since the summer of 1998. The property at 516 8^th Street was built in 1878 by the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows and was, at the time of its construction, the largest and grandest building on the street.

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias to books to dictionaries to magazines. I’m also an avid television viewer, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD, earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked on red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my lifelong journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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