Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre Announces Inaugural Artist-in-Residence Cohort as Part of Strategy to Grow Arts Performances at Historic Venue
April 8, 2026
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Nancy Proctor, nancy@snfparkway.org, 301-642-6257
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre Announces Inaugural Artist-in-Residence Cohort as Part of Strategy to Grow Arts Performances at Historic Venue
Welcome Reception and Artist Presentations to Kick Off at Maryland Film Festival Festivities
BALTIMORE, April 8, 2026 — With the historic restoration of Theater 1 now complete, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Parkway Theatre is officially expanding its footprint as a multi-disciplinary arts destination. Today, the Parkway announces three acclaimed Baltimore-area artists as the winners of its inaugural Artist Residencies. This pilot program marks a transformative chapter for the historic Station North landmark as it expands its mission to become a premier multi-disciplinary performing arts hub.
The 2026 residencies represent a bold step in the Parkway’s evolution, transforming the venue from a premier cinema into a comprehensive performing arts hub and permanent home for the Maryland Film Festival (MdFF). The inaugural cohort features some of the most influential voices in the Baltimore arts scene:
- Zane Forshee: An interdisciplinary performance artist working across movement, sound, and immersive staging.
- Wordsmith: A renowned poet and lyricist blending music, storytelling, and social impact.
- Andrea Conte: A theatermaker and director focused on devised performance and visual storytelling.
Each resident receives a $6,000 stipend, rehearsal access, and technical support to develop original work that will be staged in Theater 1 later in 2026.
“With the stage in our Theater 1 now fully accessible for performances of all kinds, the SNF Parkway is entering an exciting new era,” said Nancy Proctor, Ph.D., Executive Director of the SNF Parkway Theatre. “These residencies allow us to partner directly with Baltimore’s incredible talent to expand our platform. Our first cohort includes some of the biggest names in the arts in Baltimore! We are thrilled to evolve into a comprehensive performing arts venue that serves as a true home for the Maryland Film Festival and the city’s performing arts community alike.”
The 2026 performing artists in residence will be introduced at the welcoming event for this year’s Maryland Film Festival, starting at 6:30 PM in Theater 1 at the beginning of Tall Stories, the Festival’s new vertical film format program. During the event, they will give very short presentations about their performing arts projects at the Parkway.
Wordsmith: Uncle Bey’s Will and Network to Freedom
As part of his Parkway Theatre residency, Wordsmith presents two dynamic evenings of youth theater and music featuring Uncle Bey’s Will, a powerful original play exploring family, legacy, and identity through the lens of young voices; a bold reinterpretation of Act 2, Scene 1 from Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost, reimagined with contemporary language and cultural context; and Network to Freedom, a moving orchestral work for chamber ensemble and choir that brings the history and spirit of the Underground Railroad to life through music and storytelling.
Zane Forshee: Breaking Counterpoint
Breaking Counterpoint is an immersive live music experience that transforms the concert into a living, responsive system. Centered around electric guitar, the performance brings together music, dance, and projection in real time, where movement shapes sound and sound reshapes visuals so that no two performances are ever the same. Developed in collaboration with composer and hip-hop artist Wendel Patrick, Orange Grove Dance, and Hyperreal Labs under the direction of Emmy-nominated media artist Katherine Helen Fisher, the work reimagines minimalist music through contemporary production and interactive media. The result is a performance that is as much experienced as it is heard, an unfolding landscape of sound, light, and motion that is never the same twice.
More on Breaking Counterpoint
Media assets
Sizzle reel
Press kit
Andrea Conte: Reckoning w/ a Ruse
Reckoning w/ a Ruse is a documentary-theatre project that combines devised theatre performance with original journalism and contemporary documentary methods to explore the mass arrests of 21 members of the Baltimore Chapter of the Black Panther Party following the murder of a Baltimore police officer. Recent FOIA lawsuits have revealed nearly 40,000 pages of FBI and police files, exposing a police and prosecutorial conspiracy. The production integrates staged live performance with projections of case files and archival footage, immersing audiences in a collective investigation that reenacts key incidents of state misconduct, while emphasizing the Panthers’ legacy of community survival programs that continue today. As of December 2025, the Maryland Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Lynching has formally acknowledged the case of veteran Panther leader Marshall Eddie Conway as a legal lynching, citing research from this project.
Through a process administered by the Baker Artist Portfolios, the esteemed panel of jurors that hand selected the three artists in residence includes:
Julianne Brienza
Commissioner with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Julianne Brienza is a disciplined organizational leader with distinctive experience developing opportunities for artists, creatives, and communities that are both significant and sustainable. In 2005, she founded Capital Fringe, a DC-based non-profit with a mission rooted in the freedom of expression and earning opportunities for artists and creatives. Prior to her role at Capital Fringe, Ms. Brienza created the Mead Theatre Lab Program, a performing arts program offering intensive production and development assistance for performing and visual artists, writers, directors, producers, and independent theatre companies. Ms. Brienza has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Business, Performing Arts and Leadership, Viterbo University in 2020, the non-profit CEO of the Year from the Washington Business Journal in 2015 and the Visionary Leadership Award at the 31st Annual Mayors Arts Awards in 2015.
Ursula Rucker
An interdisciplinary poet, performer, and recording artist, Ursula Rucker is known for her captivating vocals and powerful poetic verse. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she began writing at a young age and later studied journalism at Temple University. She made her debut in 1994 at Zanzibar Blue, leading to collaborations with artists like King Britt and The Roots, contributing spoken word pieces to their groundbreaking albums. With a career spanning international festivals and tours, Ursula has released multiple solo projects exploring themes of identity, race, and femininity. Her work continues to inspire audiences worldwide, blending poetry with progressive hip-hop and jazz influences.
Troy Burton
Troy Burton is a Baltimore-born director, arts educator, and cultural leader with over 30 years of impact in the Baltimore-Washington theater community. He has directed more than 50 stage productions, including bold reimaginings of classics and original works, along with projects for ABC television and VH1.
A former Executive Director of the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, Burton has also taught and led workshops at institutions including Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Center Stage, and Coppin State University. A recipient of the 2022 Ruby Arts Prize, Creative Baltimore Individual Artist Award, and The Awesome Foundation Grant, he continues to create innovative, community-driven work, including recent projects U Thought I Was Him and Soulmates: The Music of Ashford and Simpson.
“We were grateful that the Baker Artist Portfolios team were able to take on the management of the selection process for the SNF Parkway’s Performing Artist Residencies. With more than 1,000 Baltimore-area artists across disciplines who have portfolios on bakerartist.org, they were able to get the call for applications out far and wide. Just as importantly, the Baker Artist Portfolios, a program of Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, has a network that includes talented jurors. Julianne Brienza, Ursula Rucker, and Troy Burton did a phenomenal job identifying artists whose projects and experience were a perfect fit for helping us develop and launch our performing arts program at the SNF Parkway,” added Proctor.
About the SNF Parkway Theatre: Located in Baltimore’s Station North Arts District, the theater now serves as a major film and cultural hub, as well as the home of the Maryland Film Festival. Through its restoration and expanded programming, the Parkway provides a world-class platform for film, live performance, and community engagement. Learn more at snfparkway.org.