Children ages 5 to 14 and their families are invited to join the Folger Shakespeare Library the first Saturday of each month to have fun learning and sharing Shakespeare’s language and experiencing the Folger. "I Take My Leave" is Sat, December 2 and is Free, 10-11am: Ages 5-7; 11am-12pm: Ages 8-14.

During Ford’s Theatre's production of "A Christmas Carol" they will be partnering with House of Ruth as recipient of this year’s donation drive inspired by the themes of charity in Dickens’s holiday classic. House of Ruth provides comprehensive services and housing for women, children and families healing from domestic abuse, and provides resources to help them build safe, stable lives. During the curtain calls for performances, the company will collect monetary donations. Patrons also can make donations through the box office. All donation checks should be made payable to “House of Ruth.” “A Christmas Carol” plays through December 31.

When you attend ANNIE at Olney Theatre Center, be sure to support the PAJAMA DRIVE as Olney partners with Comfort Cases, an organization that provides comfort and support to children entering the foster care system. Pajama Drive Info

Live on The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, a week-long tribute to emerging musical theater creators with ASCAP Presents (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). Performances include: 11/13 - Nikko Benson (recipient of a 2016 Jonathan Larson grant; Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat); 11/14 - Julian Hornik (composer, lyricist, and librettist, wrote the music and lyrics for Giovanni’s Room, an adaptation of the James Baldwin novel); 11/15 - composers Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews (created the documentary musical Witness Uganda (a.k.a. Invisible Thread); 11/16 - Max Vernon, a composer/lyricist, playwright, performer, and brooch enthusiast; his The View UpStairs, ran 105 performances Off-Broadway); 11/17 - Andrew Lippa (his hit song “Evil Like Me” appears in Disney’s Descendants; composer of Big Fish, The Addams Family, The Wild Party).

Forum Theatre presents THE STATE, conceived by ALEXANDER MANUILOFF, Nov 29 to Dec 3. The State tells the story of the last conscious night of Plamen Goranov before he burnt himself in protest in front of the Municipal Council of Varna, Bulgaria. The text consists of fictionalized letters that share intimate moments of the character’s last minutes on Earth and also open space for discussion about our basic rules, principles, and values. The State is an innovative theatrical event based on Manuiloff’s text, but engaging the audience in a unique way. Audience members take part in the performance, becoming players and co-authors, and changing the piece each time it is presented.

Join Perisphere Theater November 14 (7:30pm) for this play reading, a benefit for the Southern Poverty Law Center - Free admission; donations to the SPLC welcome. A representative of the SPLC will speak with the audience afterward about ways to fight hate. First performed in 1988, the play explores the white supremacist movement in America through the trial of a paramilitary group for the murder of a Jewish talk radio host. Dietz lays bare the subculture of hate that many of us would have liked to think represent only a few individuals on the fringes of society, and it is eerie and disturbing how contemporary this play seems 30 years later.

In conjunction with its production of The Adventures of Peter Pan, Synetic Theater hosts two after-show events: the 11th annual VAMPIRE’S BALL is Oct 27 following the show. Tickets include the 8pm performance of ‘Peter Pan’, post-show party with dancing, open bar, and costume contest; the PIRATE'S BALL is Oct 29 and is a family friendly version of the Vampire’s Ball. Tickets include the 2pm performance of ‘Peter Pan’, post-show family activities, light appetizers, and a meet-and-greet with some of the cast. All attendees are encouraged to come in costume and bring a trick-or-treat bag.

A Halloween Tradition from Guillotine Theatre is their "Tales of Mystery and the Imagination - Poems and Stories of Edgar Allan Poe." Though we hear the Oct 28 and added Nov 4 show in the Receiving Vault at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Alexandria are sold out - there's also a 7:30pm event on Sunday, October 29 at Grace Church in G'town (1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW). No reservations, tickets at door ($10 requested donation).

Annapolis Shakespeare Company presents "POE... and all the others" by Tony Tsendeas, starring Brian Keith MacDonald, in their new 75-seat cabaret space. 4 performances only - Oct. 23, 25, 30 and Nov. 1 at 7:30pm. The production takes a fascinating look at the man, Edgar Allen Poe, his poetry and the muse that inspired his prolific writing.