Alexia Rowe discovered her love of theater in South Africa.
Schools there have houses — similar to those in “Harry Potter,” she said — that put on student-run plays. In Rowe’s house, Alseids, her first role was playing Dr. Doofenshmirtz from the animated television series “Phineas and Ferb” in 9th grade.
In 2025, the Cambridge resident launched “House Plays,” an initiative that builds upon her theater experiences growing up, putting traditional theater performances in “unconventional” spaces, like museums like the Forbes House Museum. This year will mark its first inaugural performance.
“I’m a super unconventional playwright myself, so I want a home for other unconventional artists too,” Rowe said in an interview with Cambridge Day.
House Plays is a project that aims to bring theater into communities without access to it, whether it’s due to cost, location or other barriers.
Rowe said that performing in different types of places can make the experience feel more intimate and immersive — mentioning several nontraditional theater formats like interactive theater and traveling productions that challenge the traditional idea of performances.
Traditional theater has grappled with rising costs and fewer performances post-pandemic, Rowe noted. House Plays aims to combat that.
“We’re kind of trying to dismantle the elitism and the feeling that people feel like they have to be really, really rich or something in order to attend a theater space,” Rowe said.
When looking to attend college in the United States, Rowe was drawn to schools with strong theater programs. Rowe started at Hampshire College in Amherst, then transferred to Gordon College in Wenham.
After graduating in 2020, Rowe started a job as a box office representative at the American Repertory Theater, began doing freelance theater work and working on entrepreneurial projects like House Plays.
“My hope with this is to probably establish little chapters all over so that we can also then bring shows from emerging playwrights into spaces and communities that otherwise would not be able to access a traditional theater space,” she said.
Adeniyi Samuel, a composer who attended Gordon College with Rowe, said initiatives like House Plays are crucial, especially coming out of the COVID-19 lockdown.
“We weren’t allowed to go to the theater, but now that things are much more calm, we need to come back there,” Samuel said. He noted that he hosts his own musicals at locations other than a theater or venue as well, and it’s important to keep theater “alive.”
Samuel and Rowe have collaborated on several musical productions together, Samuel said. Rowe has also written music for Samuel.
Rowe also has written and directed several plays, including “We Need a Savior,” a one-man show that retells a Christmas story from the perspective of a man in an African village, and “Ballad for Madeline,” a 10-minute play that was a finalist for the Boston Theatre Marathon XXIII.
The inaugural House Plays show will be July 25 at 7 p.m. at the Forbes House Museum in Milton. The event will showcase several performances, from prose readings to music to original works. Tickets are $35 for students and artists and $55 for standard tickets.
“It’s going to probably shift people’s perception of art because they’re being exposed to something new,” she said.
“The intimate setting of the museum allows for a unique connection between the performers and the audience, fostering an engaging environment that enhances the emotional depth of each piece,” the event description says.
“When people may not be able to buy tickets that are very expensive, they can come to places like this and enjoy good productions without breaking the bank,” said Samuel. “[House Plays] is not just helpful to promote theater and help artists, composers, and playwrights, it’s also very helpful to society.”
Rowe said her journey in theater and with House Plays has shown her that her work has value — and that success is not defined by “algorithms, competitions, or traditional validation.”
For Rowe, the project reflects not only her past experiences in theater but her vision for its future.
“I think it opens up the playing field a bit more for artists that are in minorities or their stories are unusual … or they just have vivid imaginations and they need a stage to put it on.”
This story is part of a partnership between Cambridge Day and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
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