Living Room Theater
An Actors Collaborative
“If you have a Living Room you have a Theater.”
– Martin Blank
The mission of Living Room Theater, an actors collaborative, is to perform compelling professional theater for the D.C. community that is uniquely accessible; entice new audiences at the grassroots level, as well as those theater goers who might not otherwise afford the cost of a ticket. And to provide opportunities for actors and theater artists to work in a professional setting.
Audiences from the D.C. community and the neighborhood attend Living Room theater at no cost. A goal of Living Room Theater has been to grow audience members who are not already theater patrons. The small venue and size of the audience fosters community with the artists and the audience after each performance.
Living Room Theater came to life with theater artists working together in the classroom. Its first full length play was Three Hotels by Jon Robin Baitz (October 2022) and was performed in Ron Lake’s living room in Washington D.C. for up to 12 invited guests per performance; it was directed by Martin Blank with actors Alexandra Tydings and Ron Lake.
As community interest built through word of mouth, next up was The Fever by Wallace Shawn (April 2023), directed by Martin Blank with Ron Lake.
Living Room Theater recently staged Port Authority by Conor McPherson (March 2024) directed by Martin Blank, with Max Johnson, Rio Liu, and Ron Lake. This work is funded in part by a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.