Contemporary theatre, alternative cabaret and community programs blend in a former grange hall in the Hudson River Valley. The theater holds a value for discovery, shared experiences and playfulness, bringing together artists of diverse backgrounds and strenghtening conversations with the local and global world.
In 2020, Ancram Opera House developed the Summer Play Lab residency as a way to support artists in creating of new work in uncertain times, through open rehearsals, interactive workshops and conversations. As live theatre has returned, the Summer Play Lab residency remains a central part of AOH’s seasonal programming.
Ancram Opera House performs on lands once inhabited by the Munsee Lenape and Mohican peoples, overlooking the river Dutch colonists have called the Roeliff Jansen Kill, which the Mohicans call the Sankhenak (flintstone creek) or Sonkippog (cooling water). The Sankhenak served as a natural boundary between the Mohican and the Wappinger nations, the theater says, which may have prompted the different geographical names.
