Community Calendar

When was the last time you unplugged?

Disconnect, slow down, and rediscover what it means to be present inside the BMA’s historic Spring House, where acclaimed American conceptual artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian presents the Nature Deficit Disorder immersion room this spring. The powerful installation challenges our digital dependence and rekindles our connection to the natural world.

Inspired by journalist Richard Louv’s term “nature deficit disorder,” described as a growing disconnection from nature, often linked to diminished focus and negative moods, Hovnanian transforms the Spring House into a simulated nighttime forest.

“My work has long explored how technology shapes attention, mental health, and human connection. This installation emerged from my observations of society’s growing digital dependence, alongside my own experience of it.” –Rachel Lee Hovnanian
Away from the constant ping of notifications and endless scrolling, surrender your phone, surround yourself with fir trees, and let lantern light guide you. Hear the crunch of leaves beneath your feet and watch the flicker of a campfire casting shadows across the room.

In a world where we check our phones every other minute, Hovnanian invites you to linger for at least five minutes in the immersion room and consider what is lost when we give our attention to apps and devices rather than real-life experiences.

“What do we lose when our lives are constantly mediated by screens? I hope to offer a pause—an invitation to rediscover how it feels to be fully present.” –Rachel Lee Hovnanian

Arthur and Friends Make a Musical!
Book and Lyrics by John Maclay
Music and Lyrics by Brett Ryback
Based on the Arthur book series by Marc Brown

Directed by Zack Callis
Choreographed by Kiersten Gasemy

Run time: Around one (1) hour and fifteen (15) minutes with no intermission.
This show is appropriate for audiences of all ages.

About: Mr. Ratburn's class is putting on a show – but Arthur's not so sure he's ready! With help from his family and friends, Arthur learns that being yourself is the best part of any performance. A fun, feel-good musical for the whole family!

The Young Playwrights Festival is our longest running learning program that encourages expression and creativity in students across the state. Each spring, we invite and receive hundreds of play submissions from participants in our residencies, and many more from students across Maryland. Playwrights in grades K-12 submit their short plays, and each year up to six plays are chosen to receive a professional production produced by Baltimore Center Stage. All YPF playwrights whose work is chosen for a full production will receive dramaturgical mentorship to help them refine and edit their scripts before the plays are performed onstage.

This year’s theme is Hear the World, Heal the World: a hopeful imagination on the current world we live in, the many worlds we create, and the hope of a better future. This is a call for young writers in Maryland to take note of the world around them (or the ones they imagine) and write out their stories imagining ways to respond to what they hear. When you listen to the world, is it screaming, crying, whispering, or singing? Who do you think is listening? What elements would you identify as essential in the recipe for healing the world? What does healing look like to you?

This season, we are expanding our submission categories for the Young Playwrights Festival program so that young writers of different mediums can express their creativity in response to our open call. Young writers are called to respond to this year’s Open Call by submitting either an original 10-page/minute play OR an original 3-5 minute poem/spoken word piece responding to this theme. In addition to our 6 winning plays, 4 young poets will be selected to read/perform their winning poem during our festival.

Arthur and Friends Make a Musical!
Book and Lyrics by John Maclay
Music and Lyrics by Brett Ryback
Based on the Arthur book series by Marc Brown

Directed by Zack Callis
Choreographed by Kiersten Gasemy

Run time: Around one (1) hour and fifteen (15) minutes with no intermission.
This show is appropriate for audiences of all ages.

About: Mr. Ratburn's class is putting on a show – but Arthur's not so sure he's ready! With help from his family and friends, Arthur learns that being yourself is the best part of any performance. A fun, feel-good musical for the whole family!

DEVOTION: An Earth Wind & Fire Experience takes you on a musical journey remembering Musical ICON Legendary Maurice White and the timeless hits of the one of the greatest bands of all time generation. Performing all the hits including “Shining Star”, “September”, “Can't Hide Love”, “That's the Way of the World”, “Fantasy”, “Let's Groove”, “Be Ever Wonderful” and more.

They say that music is the language of the soul, and this is certainly true for DEVOTION: An Earth Wind and Fire Experience. From live gigs to studio sessions and more, DEVOTION touches fans everywhere they go. A stylistically unique band from day one, the members of DEVOTION have been singing, performing, and playing in sync as if they’d been together their entire musical careers.

Based on the beloved Newbery Medal- and National Book Award-winning novel—and the hit 2003 film starring Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, and Jon Voight—this theatrical adaptation is a thrilling ride for audiences of all ages. When teenager Stanley Yelnats is hit by a pair of falling sneakers, his unlucky family curse strikes again. Wrongly convicted of stealing the sneakers and sent to the mysterious Camp Green Lake, Stanley joins a ragtag group of boys digging endless holes under the blistering sun—all in the name of building character. But as the layers of dirt pile up, so do the secrets buried beneath them. Part mystery, part adventure, and packed with heart, Holes is a wildly imaginative tale about friendship, fate, and the courage it takes to rewrite your story. Holes is “a fast-paced and inventive family show that works on every level” (The Stage).

1999 Newbery Medal
1998 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
1999 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction

When was the last time you unplugged?

Disconnect, slow down, and rediscover what it means to be present inside the BMA’s historic Spring House, where acclaimed American conceptual artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian presents the Nature Deficit Disorder immersion room this spring. The powerful installation challenges our digital dependence and rekindles our connection to the natural world.

Inspired by journalist Richard Louv’s term “nature deficit disorder,” described as a growing disconnection from nature, often linked to diminished focus and negative moods, Hovnanian transforms the Spring House into a simulated nighttime forest.

“My work has long explored how technology shapes attention, mental health, and human connection. This installation emerged from my observations of society’s growing digital dependence, alongside my own experience of it.” –Rachel Lee Hovnanian
Away from the constant ping of notifications and endless scrolling, surrender your phone, surround yourself with fir trees, and let lantern light guide you. Hear the crunch of leaves beneath your feet and watch the flicker of a campfire casting shadows across the room.

In a world where we check our phones every other minute, Hovnanian invites you to linger for at least five minutes in the immersion room and consider what is lost when we give our attention to apps and devices rather than real-life experiences.

“What do we lose when our lives are constantly mediated by screens? I hope to offer a pause—an invitation to rediscover how it feels to be fully present.” –Rachel Lee Hovnanian