Leaders of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre on Wednesday announced that three Baltimore-area artists have been named inaugural Artists in Residence in a pilot program funded by the Mellon Foundation.
The artist residencies are part of an effort to transform the Station North landmark at 5 W. North Ave. from a cinema complex mostly busy at night to a multi-disciplinary performing arts hub and permanent home for the Maryland Film Festival, with programs and activities throughout the day.
Last month, leaders announced the selection of the Parkway’s first Organization-in-Residence, a non-profit called AZIZA PE&CE.
The artists selected for the initial residencies are:
- Wordsmith: A renowned poet and lyricist blending music, storytelling, and social impact.
- Zane Forshee: An interdisciplinary performance artist working across movement, sound, and immersive staging.
- 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 at the Parkway’s Theater 1 later in 2026, with exact dates still being determined. The residencies began with the announcement of the artists and continue until the artists present their projects at the Parkway.
“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 Executive Director Nancy Proctor, in a statement.
“These residencies, generously made possible by the Mellon Foundation, allow us to partner directly with Baltimore’s incredible talent to expand our platform,” Proctor said. “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 during the welcoming event for this year’s Maryland Film Festival, which runs from April 8 to 12. The welcoming event starts at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Theater 1. The artists will also attend a reception on Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Club Car, 12 W. North Ave.
Following is a summary of the projects planned by the three selected artists:
Wordsmith: Uncle Bey’s Will and Network to Freedom
As part of his Parkway Theatre residency, Wordsmith will present two 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.
Andrea Conte: Reckoning w/ a Ruse
Reckoning w/ a Ruse is a documentary-theater project that combines devised theater 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.
