Institute of Outdoor Drama

The Institute of Outdoor Drama has been a public service agency of The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill for 46 years. It is the only organization in the U.S. providing national leadership in fostering artistic and managerial excellence and expansion of the outdoor drama movement through training, research and advisory programs. The Institute serves as a national clearinghouse for more than 102 constituent theatre companies across the nation.

Sounds good but the only trouble is that no one appears to be maintaining this site which still contains listings for 2009, not 2010. I have put off blogging it for over two months now, first expecting, then hoping and finally praying that someone would update it. But alas, it was not to be, and since the year is not getting any younger, I decided it was time to go ahead and blog it anyway as the site is still valuable despite being out of date.

What you must do is to follow the site's links for any outdoor event of interest -- and it does list a good many of them -- until you reach the site's page for the event, then click where it says to go for more information. For most, if not all, events, that will take you to the event's web site, where, with any luck, you can obtain the dates for 2010 performances and other current information.

To go to the Institute's web site: Click Here.

Note: What might be called the Melungeon Renaissance was sparked in no small part by an outdoor drama, Walk Toward the Sunset, by Kermit Hunter, which was performed in Hancock County, Tennessee from 1969 to 1976.