About Us
At Adventure Theatre, young people share in the thrill of memorable theater experiences and broaden their understanding of the universe. Founded in 1951, Adventure Theatre is the longest-running children’s theater in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area.

Children and their families can plan a full day of activities at the Park when seeing an Adventure Theatre production, by riding the 1921 Dentzel Carousel, frolicking on the playground, taking a ranger-guided tour, enjoying a picnic, or exploring the Minnehaha Creek.

Reaching nearly 50,000 children and their families annually, Adventure Theatre has been a cherished family institution in the Washington Area for three generations and a valued source of artistic enrichment for the community.

Our Mission
To cultivate new generations of audiences and artists by creating memorable theater experiences in an intimate and interactive environment. To offer a wide variety of activities including live performances of classic and contemporary classic children’s stories, theater classes and camps (which complement in-school learning), workshops, birthday parties, and community engagement projects.

Our History
• 1951. Adventure Theatre is founded by a group of women from the Community Arts Association’s drama classes, who believed that children deserve to experience excellent theater.

• 1955. Adventure Theatre begins commissioning plays by award-winning, nationally-recognized children’s theater playwrights, Flora Atkins and Helen Avery. Both are recipients of the prestigious Charlotte B. Chorpenning Award from The Children’s Theatre Association of America.

• 1969. The In-School Players, a traveling troupe, is launched as a result of a request by the Director of Language Arts for the District of Columbia Public Schools. The In-School Players remains a vital part of AT programming.

• 1971. Adventure Theatre moves into a new permanent space of its own after years of touring, at Glen Echo Park, its current location.

• 1974 -79. Adventure Theatre expands programming by partnering with the Junior League to create The Picture Book Players, a performance troupe for pre-school and early elementary aged children. Adventure Theatre also began offering its first theater-education classes and created a puppet division, now The Puppet Co., another resident of Glen Echo Park.

• 1986. New Plays Books published Six Adventure Theatre Plays, which were distributed to bookstores and children’s theaters around the country. The County Council of Montgomery County proclaimed June as “Adventure Theatre Month,” in honor of the theater’s 35 years of service.

• 2007. Renovation of the home space is completed. The extensive renovation, which includes a state-of-the-art theatre, new rehearsal spaces, and room for an expanded administrative staff, Adventure Theatre, enables the theater to expand its programming and offer services to thousands of additional patrons each year.

• 2010. Producing Artistic Director, Michael J. Bobbitt receives the 2010 County Executive’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts – Emerging Leader and becomes President of the League of Washington Theaters. Adventure Theatre partners with Montgomery College to co-produce Harry Connick, Jr’s, THE HAPPY ELF, directed by Tony Winner John Rando and starring Tony winner Michael Rupert. Additionally, Adventure Theatre adapted and produced the classic television special – RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. Adventure Theatre’s production of IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE, breaks box-office records, receives both critical and public acclaim, and is featured in American Theatre Magazine.

Both, IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE and THE HAPPY ELF, receive national recognition and help solidify Adventure Theatre’s position as a leader in arts and arts education for youth.

• 2011, Adventure Theatre will celebrate 60 years of commissioning new works, cultivating many generations of theatre artists and audiences, and transitioning from a community-based arts organization to a nationally-recognized children’s theater.

For a complete list of Adventure Theatre's awards & nominations, click here.

Leadership Staff

Michael J. Bobbitt
Producing Artistic Director

Joseph A. Rossi
Managing Director

Board of Directors

Peter Carnathan, President
Fiduciary Trust Company

Keith Parsky, Vice President
Historical Trust Accounting

Stephanie Nealer, Secretary
Community Leader

Deborah Preston, Treasurer
Montgomery College

Directors

Bruce Douglas
NOAA, NASA, & University of
Maryland
 
Debbie Ghamkhar
Attorney-at-Law

Ian Grossman
AMVA
 
Roland Hawthorne
The Meltzer Group

Robert Jacobs


James Lystad
BECO Management, Inc.

Daphne Pallozzi
Ardmore Enterprises 
 
Catherine Pickar
Owner, Music Studio

Lee Pushkin
National Institute of Health
 
Mike Rosenbaum
Science Application
Int’l Corporation
 
Guylaine Saint Juste
CapitalOne Bank

Micah Salb
Lippman, Sempsker & Salb
 
Peter Somerville
Geico Insurance



Honorary Board Member
Carol Leahy

Founders
Judy Frosh
Annavieve Abrams