What Is Open Circle Theatre?

Open Circle Theatre is a theatre organization based in Rockville, Maryland, founded in 2003 by a group of people with and without disabilities. It creates theatre from the principle that disability can enhance the artistic experience, expand aesthetic innovation, and influence a community to become accessible for all.

What Open Circle Theatre Does

The organization produces theatre and builds a diverse community that celebrates the uniqueness of each person. Its stated mission extends beyond performance: it promotes employment in the arts for people with disabilities and works toward a more accessible community for all.

Open Circle Theatre describes itself as relying heavily on volunteers and invites people to share their time and talents.

Who It Serves

Open Circle Theatre is rooted in the disability and deaf communities. Its work includes:

• The Hive — a community of disabled and deaf artists that supports each other's careers, grows a network of artists who identify as disabled and/or d/Deaf, and provides a safe space to share experiences and aspirations.
• Artists and audiences interested in radically inclusive, intersectional theatre.
• Volunteers who want to contribute to a growing organization.

Current Work

Open Circle Theatre lists a play in development called VitaNova.

How to Get Involved

• Join the email list — the site offers a subscribe link for its newsletter.
• Volunteer — the organization states it depends on volunteers and promises a strong volunteer experience.
• Donate — a donation option is listed on the site.
• Join The Hive — disabled and d/Deaf artists can visit The Hive page to join the community.

Contact Information

Values and Commitments

Open Circle Theatre states a commitment to anti-racist practices and policies, disability justice, and a vibrant, radically inclusive intersectional space. It expresses support for the Black Lives Matter movement and aims to strengthen the organization with members who bring lived experience as D/disabled, D/deaf, BIPOC, women, and LGBTQIA+ people.

The organization also includes a land acknowledgement recognizing that its theatre spaces stand on occupied, unceded territory — the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank, whose descendants belong to the Piscataway peoples.