Large Music Festival Coming to Indian Head

Lisa Kay Morton believes Indian Head is "the perfect place" to host 17 straight nights of opera, jazz, classical and musical theater performances.

It doesn't matter that the Charles County town has never hosted an opera performance before, or that such large-scale events generally take place in significantly larger cities. Morton, a Waldorf resident and professional opera singer, believes this summer's Stageworks Festival is destined for success.

"There's not a major arts community in Charles County at present, but I think this will give people an appetite for it," said Morton, the festival's founder. "We want to expose people to something different, and maybe it will stick."

Stageworks will bring 85 young singers and 20 instrumentalists trying to establish professional careers to perform at the Indian Head Village Green from June 13 to 29. The artists, who will pay $4,100 in tuition and housing costs to participate, will train with established professional teachers during the day and perform for as many as 2,500 people at Indian Head at night. Ten to 15 percent of the performers are Southern Maryland residents, Morton said, although she also conducted nationwide auditions.

"The mission is to promote, educate and train young artists," Morton said. "They're not amateurs; they're people at the edge of the diving board ready to go into the big professional pool."

The festival is part of an international tradition of summer stock performances, which generally rely on young artists just starting their careers. Stageworks represents the first attempt to bring such an ambitious project to Southern Maryland. The event schedule includes selections from the operas "The Magic Flute," "I Pagliacci," "Porgy and Bess" and "Suor Angelica" and the musical "Ragtime."

Nicole Collins, a local opera singer participating in the festival, said she appreciates the chance to perform close to home. A University of Maryland alumna who lives in Waldorf, Collins will sing the parts of the Queen of the Night in "The Magic Flute" and Serena in "Porgy and Bess."

"Every young artist program is another opportunity for a young artist starting their career," Collins said. "I thought it would be nice to do that in my own back yard instead of going to Italy or another part of the country."

Marcia Keeth, Charles County's acting director of economic development, said Morton approached the county about hosting the event after her planned site in Washington fell through. Keeth, who has spent years working to improve the county's image as its population has grown and its average income has skyrocketed, said she recognized the potential immediately.

"When she showed me the scale of what they were doing and the incredible talent they had involved, my reaction was 'yeah' with three exclamation points," Keeth said.

And although Indian Head sounds out-of-the-way compared with the District, Keeth said it is central enough to draw fans from across the region. Although the county is not paying to bring the festival to Indian Head, Keeth's office has launched an aggressive marketing campaign to sell tickets.

A major boon to the festival's marketability is the low ticket prices, especially compared with major professional performances. Midweek tickets will cost $5 for any spot on the lawn; weekend tickets will cost adults $10.