Wolf Trap National Park For The Performing Arts - Performing Arts Venues

Performing Arts Venues

Presently, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts organizes and runs several distinct venues and facilities as part of the whole park. These include:

• Filene Center

The Filene Center, named in honor of Mrs. Shouse's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Filene, is the major indoor/outdoor performance venue with seating for 7,000 both under cover and on the lawn in a more casual style. Performances are given nightly from May to early September and cover a wide range of musical styles from country music to opera.

Prior to its opening in 1971, the Filene Center was partially damaged by a fire on March 13, 1971. In all, damages cost around $650,000. Despite this setback, the Filene Center opened on schedule on July 1. On May 10, a benefit concert was held at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. to benefit the rebuilding effort, and featured Pierre Boulez conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the summer of 1971, sixty young musical performers were chosen for training in music, dance and acting, to culminate in a production in the newly conceived Filene Center. The inaugural season opening was delayed one month due to a fire that destroyed most of the recently constructed center. When the Filene Center was finally completed, the theatre, constructed of Oregon redcedar, was a ten-story-high facility equipped with a computerized lighting system and sophisticated sound equipment.

The second Filene Center, constructed between 1982 and 1984, is made of douglas-fir with a yellow pine ceiling. It includes a smoke/fire detection and suppression system, as well as fire retardant wood, which all cost about a total of $1.7 million. The new amphitheater was also built with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment. The Filene Center contains a seating capacity of 7,000, including lawn seating, which can fit several hundred more patrons than the original Filene Center could. Also compared to the original, the second Filene Center contains improved access to handicapped people as well as more backstage space for performers and crews.

Today, the seating capacity of the Filene Center is about 7,000, including about 3,800 in-house seats and 3,200 lawn seats. The dimensions of the main stage are 116' wide x 64' deep x 102' high.

• Children's Theatre in the Woods

With 70 performances from late June through early August, Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods presents family-friendly shows at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Amidst 117 rolling wooded acres and nestled in a shady grove, the stage is set for lively adventures in music, dance, storytelling, puppetry, and theater. All performances are recommended for children between Kindergarten and 6th grade.

In 2011, Theatre-in-the-Woods was featured in "Best Summer Ever if You've Got Little Ones" by The Washingtonian. The 2012 season of Theatre-in-the-Woods will feature 34 performances from "local, national, international, and Grammy-nominated artists who represent folk, kindie-rock, storytelling, theatre, world-clad puppetry, and dance."

• Meadow Pavilion

From the park's inception in 1971 until 2010, the Meadow Pavilion, a covered outdoor stage adjacent to Children's Theatre in the Woods, hosted events for the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap (known as International Children's Day from 1971 to 1974). The Meadow Pavilion hasn't been used since 2010, although it still stands, and remains available for rental through the Wolf Trap Foundation.

On March 6, 1980, a welder's torch ignited a fire at the Meadow Pavilion, causing around $10,000 in damage.