WSC Avant Bard

WSC Avant Bard is the new name of what used to be the Washington Shakespeare Company. The company also has a new space, now residing in Artisphere in Rosslyn. The space is kind of cold and lifeless and I’m not sure how it is going to effect WSC in the long run. I’ve only been to 2 shows since they moved, but I probably attended 15 or so shows in their old space.
Despite the name I think that WSC Avant Bard is actually best at putting on productions of minor works by modern play writes such as Tom Stoppard (who is the second most produced play write by the company). Well, maybe they have realized this themselves and that is why they changed their name. They also put on Shakespeare in edgy ways with minimal production. It is in some ways the antithesis of the Shakespeare Theater Company downtown. It isn’t ostentatious, the budgets are clearly small, and the actors always pan handle you for money to support the company on the way out, but they put on great shows for really affordable prices. I probably see 2 or 3 shows a year here and it was a huge loss when they were in between homes and struggling financially in the wake of snowpocalypse. An underutilized gem here in DC for sure.