Featured Artist

Theatergoers in Loudoun are familiar with the many faces of Marian Sweet. She is best known in this area as a versatile character actress, having performed with the Not Just Shakespeare Theater Company, Aurora Studio Theater and Oatlands Theater, to name a few.

When Sweet turned 60, she decided to become a character actress. As she puts it, playing the ingénue was too boring. Her portrayal of the vivacious Mistress Quickly in Not Just Shakespeare's 2005 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor brought the audience to tears of laughter. In February 2006, she played the role of the mother-in-law, Ethel, in the Franklin Park Arts Center's production of Barefoot in the Park.

Marian Sweet's career on the stage began during her childhood, and stretches from Virginia to Texas and back again. Mrs. Sweet spent her childhood on the campus of Marion College in southwest Virginia. While at Marion College, the theater department often cast her its productions because she was one of the few children available. As a young adult, she performed in dinner theaters in Texas and hosted a public television talk show. She and her husband moved to Loudoun in 1977.