Baltimore Voices Company Records

Formed in 1979, the Baltimore Voices Company was the Theatre Project's contribution to a larger, multi-facetted local history initiative known as the Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project (BNHP). BNHP was a community history project created by the University of Baltimore and the Baltimore Regional Institutional Studies Center (BRISC) that was active between 1978 through 1981. It included community members and academic historians who partnered to document the local histories of several older Baltimore neighborhoods. BNHP aimed to connect neighborhood members with their local histories through materials created throughout the project. BNHP recorded and collected oral histories from over 200 longtime residents of seven Baltimore neighborhoods including Highlandtown, Hampden, Park Heights, Little Italy, South Baltimore, Old West Baltimore, and East Baltimore. The Project also conducted interviews with workers in and around the Port of Baltimore. Additionally, BNHP presented the collected oral histories, photographs, and ephemera through a traveling exhibit, a published book of oral history transcripts and collected photographs, and a theatrical play.

In order to create a theatrical production that was performed throughout Baltimore City in 1980, Baltimore Voices Company members utilized existing BNHP oral histories and conducted their own tape-recorded interviews. The BVC's interviews were focused around specific themes, including labor, education, and community organizing.

Information for this historical note was gathered from the finding aid for the Baltimore Neighborhood Heritage Project (R0014-BNHP), Special Collections and Archives.