The Kennedy Center

With an abundance of performance spaces and three great halls, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (commonly shortened to The Kennedy Center) is a historic building that welcomes world-class theatre companies, performers, school groups, educators, tourists, and arts lovers. It was established as America’s national center of cultural excellence and education in 1964 and remains a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963. This guide will explore the foundation of the Center, its development over the years, and the cultural impact it has had on performing arts and education in America.

Terminology

• Artist Residency: An opportunity provided by a host organisation that enables a guest artist to work in a new environment.
• Assassination: The wilful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a person.
• Kennedy Center Honors: Annual honors given to individuals for excellence in the performing arts.
• Memorial: A statue or structure established to remind people of a person or event.
• Premiere: The first performance of a musical or theatrical work.

Key Dates & Events

• 1958 - President Eisenhower signs the National Cultural Center Act.
• 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22.
• 1964 - The Center is renamed The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and building work began in December.
• 1971 - The Kennedy Center opens on September 8 with the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers.
• 1978 - The Kennedy Center Honors are established.
• 1987 - The Theater Lab begins housing the whodunit Shear Madness, which runs to this day.