The DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development is pleased to honor the historic DC landmark, Arena Stage as the One City Location of the Month for April. After a decade of planning, design and construction, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater reopened its doors October 25, 2010. The new building, designed by Bing Thom Architects, one of Canada’s most renowned architectural firms, re-imagines this legendary theater and creates a cultural destination in southwest Washington. With the opening of this new facility, Arena Stage is the second largest performing arts complex in Washington after the Kennedy Center and describes itself as a national center for the production, presentation, development and study of American theater.

Just as the founding of Arena Stage 60 years ago changed American theater, the new center has secured the future of Arena Stage as both a national leader and a dynamic local treasure. The center features state-of-the-art technology and modern amenities; a centralized lobby; readily available concessions and an onsite café; a reading area dedicated to students of American theater; easy access to all areas of the building for people with disabilities; and a beautiful outdoor terrace overlooking the Potomac with the Washington Monument in the background.

The remodeled structure saves and reuses the two original, historic Arena Stage theater buildings while adding the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle, a versatile new theater. By wrapping all three buildings in a 45-foot-high insulated glass skin and topping them with a heroic cantilevered roof, the old and new are combined to create an imaginative and forceful theatrical compound that has already become a catalyst for the revitalization of Southwest Washington, DC. The unique roof that resembles a bow to a ship salutes the Washington Monument, summoning visitors and establishing Arena Stage as one of the preeminent landmarks of the new Washington.

If you are interested in using Arena Stage for a future filming location, please contact us at film@dc.gov.

***Do you have a business or location you would like to have featured as the DC Film Office’s One City “Location of the Month”? If so, please forward your inquiry to film@dc.gov.