Encore produces eight fully-staged productions each year under the guidance and direction of experienced theatre professionals. These productions include musicals and straight plays, and run the gamut from classic stories to brand-new commissioned works. Encore is unique in offering dramatic productions in which every actor and every backstage crew member is under 18 years of age. You’ll even find middle and high school students on our front-of-house team! We truly believe in our motto of “theatre by kids, for kids” and know that our structure promotes mentoring and role modeling between younger and older participants. We love watching students develop lasting friendships while building theatre and life skills.

Another unique feature of Encore is that participation in our productions is entirely free. We want to share the magic of theatre with everyone, and believe that a no-cost program is the best possible way to do that.

In addition to our productions, Encore offers a robust and ever-expanding year-round series of theatre classes, workshops, and summer camp programs for children ages 3—18. At Encore, students can learn everything from stage combat to makeup design to playwriting to advanced acting skills. All of our classes are taught by professional educators and artists with a passion for working with children, and are designed to help build new skills and supplement students’ onstage and backstage experiences. Classes are offered at locations throughout Arlington, and we frequently partner with local schools and PTAs throughout the northern Virginia area to bring programs directly to their students.

Encore is also invested in training the next generation of theatre artists and educators. We offer a year-long apprentice position as well as multiple summer internships for college students and recent graduates. Many of our interns have continued to work with us as teaching artists, production designers and directors, and even full-time staff members after completing their internships.

Encore has been recognized as an outstanding organization in the Washington, DC area and beyond. We were nationally recognized in 2017 as the recipient of the Twink Lynch Organizational Achievement Award from the American Association of Community Theatres. We have been a featured non-profit in Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington since 2010 and participate as part of the federal government’s Combined Federal Campaign. We receive grant funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arlington Cultural Affairs division of Arlington Economic Development, and the Arlington Commission for the Arts.