The Foundry’s upcoming season is set to include Bogota, Colombia-based artist Yeison Landero in late September, bringing the sounds of Cumbia — a popular dance music genre rooted in Colombian tradition — to the Foundry. (Submitted photo)
Foundry Theater at Antioch College ramps up for third season
- Published: August 22, 2025
The Foundry Theater at Antioch College is poised to launch another full season of programming behind its doors — the third season since its relaunch in the fall of 2023 as a venue for local artists in residence and national and international acts.
The Foundry’s season opener, slated for Sept. 2, will feature progressive folk vocalist Moira Smiley with The Rhizome Quartet in collaboration with Foundry artist-in-residence the World House Choir.
A performer and composer known both as a solo act and for her work with groups Solas and Tune-Yards, among others, Smiley and her string quartet will perform with the World House Choir, under the direction of Catherine Roma, in a show that Foundry Director Chris Westhoff told the News this week is a kind of synthesis of the local-and-afar approach the theater has aimed for thus far.
“We’re kicking off our season with these two talents, and at the same time, centering the vision of our community approach to enjoying the arts,” Westhoff said. “We’re committing to the concept of vibrant traditional folk arts and expanding our community partnerships, with local and regional work equally at the core of what we’re doing.”
With that mission at its core, the Foundry’s upcoming season is set to include Bogota, Colombia-based artist Yeison Landero in late September, bringing the sounds of Cumbia — a popular dance music genre rooted in Colombian tradition — to the Foundry. In October, famed American fiddlers Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger will take the stage.
Anger will return to the Foundry in December as part of American roots supergroup Mr Sun — which also includes guitarist Grant Gordy, bassist Aidan O’Donnell and mandolin player/vocalist Joe K. Walsh. In a nod to the winter holidays, the four will perform their interpretation of Duke Ellington’s “Nutcracker Suite,” itself a legendary interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s ballet suite.
Heading into January, Spanish-based duo Tarta Relena — featured in last year’s NPR Tiny Desk x globalFEST series — will perform vocal and electronic traditional Mediterranean and original compositions in their native Catalan, as well as Spanish, Greek and other languages. Grammy- and Juno-award-winning Canadian singer/songwriter Royal Wood will bring classic pop sounds to the Foundry in February. In March, Canadian folk group Le Vent Du Nord will perform tunes with strong sonic ties to traditional Quebecois music.
In addition to these new-to-the-Foundry acts, some returning favorites will also take the stage: Artists-in-residence Mad River Theater Works will again join with The Big Family Business — which debuted at the Foundry last year as a melding of Mad River, Muse Machine and members of the former Rhythm In Shoes — in October this year, presenting “Trad Romp Wknd.” The three-day slate of events will include workshops and performances, including from contemporary folk rock headliners The Mammals, as well as community dances.
November’s schedule will include a new multipart work from the World House Choir, which will present “Rebel With a Cause: Sincerely Yours, Pauli Murray.” The musical portrait will tell the story of the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, a civil rights activist, lawyer and poet noted, among other work, as a co-founder of the National Organization for Women and her work against gender discrimination. In December, high-flying Foundry artist-in-residence group GravityWorks Circus will present a winter showcase, highlighting the aerial skills of its students.
Jazz drummer and composer Mark Lomax II, who has appeared on the Foundry stage for the past two seasons, will return again in early March to present an updated version of his Unity Suite. Returning in April is Chicago-based Theater Oobleck, which produced Mickle Maher’s “The Hunchback Variations” in the Foundry’s Experimental Space during the revived Foundry’s first season; this season, the company will produce Maher’s “Song About Himself,” which meditates on human communication in the social media and AI age.
In addition to the tried-and-true musical, dance and theater productions, Mad River Theater Works is launching a speaker series at the Foundry this year as part of its programming, said Westhoff, who is also managing director of the theater company. Funded in part by an ArtsNEXT grant from the Ohio Arts Council, the new project aims to invite speakers from a variety of disciplines to discuss the intersections of arts, humanities and global affairs from their own perspectives. Two speakers are lined up so far, beginning with Columbus-based poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib in late September, followed by poet, essayist and Indiana University Professor Ross Gay in February.
Westhoff said the series is part of Mad River Theater Works’ desire to “support offerings to the community that are resonant and meaningful.”
“How can we facilitate multiple ways of engaging the arts? This is a different one — that’s the concept,” he said.
As funding cuts and political backlash against the arts have made programming harder to sustain at both the state and national levels, Westhoff said the Foundry has been blessed to have the continued support of the Yellow Springs community — where he said the importance of the arts is a foregone conclusion.
“There is so much creative energy that has been put [into the Foundry] from decades of caring, talented, intelligent people, and there is a community that supports and remembers all of that work,” he said.
That recognition, he added, signals a steadfast future for the Foundry, despite the challenges ahead for nonprofit arts institutions.
“It’s really damaging to live in a world where best efforts and meaningful progress are being purposefully extinguished or limited,” he said. “It may consume our time and energy in defending ourselves, but it’s not going to stop the work.”
Tickets for and more information about the upcoming Foundry Theater season will be available online beginning Friday afternoon, Aug. 15, at http://www.antiochcollege.edu/foundry-theater; more events will be added to the lineup in the coming weeks as they are finalized.
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