The Acting Company

The Acting Company
Name	The Acting Company
Founded	1972
Founders	John Houseman; Margot Harley
Headquarters	New York City
Genre	classical theatre; contemporary theatre; touring productions
Artistic director	(see Organization and Leadership)
Notable alumni	(see Repertoire and Productions)

The Acting Company is an American touring theatre ensemble established in 1972 that develops actors through repertory performance and national touring, drawing on classical and contemporary works. Founded amid the postwar modern theatre movement in New York City, it has connections to institutions such as the Juilliard School, Lincoln Center, and the American Theatre Wing. The company has mounted productions at venues including the Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater, and regional houses across the United States.

History

The company was formed in 1972 by John Houseman and Margot Harley following collaborations linked to Juilliard School alumni and faculty who had worked with Mansfield College—artists coming out of training programs at Yale School of Drama, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Early seasons featured ensembles drawing on repertory models used by companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and directors influenced by Peter Brook, Ellen Stewart, and Joseph Papp. During the 1970s and 1980s the ensemble toured to venues including the Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and the Old Globe Theatre, and engaged with funders like the National Endowment for the Arts and patrons associated with the Ford Foundation. Key productions in those decades evoked playwrights such as William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Molière, and Arthur Miller, while collaborations brought guest directors with credits at the Public Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Lincoln Center Theater.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the company adapted to shifts in nonprofit theatre funding influenced by policies from the National Endowment for the Arts and changing residency patterns among institutions like Juilliard and the University of California, Berkeley. Tours extended to cultural centers including the Kennedy Center, American Repertory Theater, and university venues at Brown University, Princeton University, and Harvard University. Recent decades saw alumni progress to companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, and regional theatres including the Guthrie Theater and Arena Stage.

Organization and Leadership

The Acting Company has operated under a nonprofit board model with executive leadership encompassing artistic directors, managing directors, and education directors who often come from training grounds like Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, and Carnegie Mellon University. Past leaders include collaborators with backgrounds at Lincoln Center, American Conservatory Theater, and the Public Theater. Boards have included trustees connected to philanthropic organizations such as the Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and municipal arts agencies in New York City and states hosting major tours.

Artistic leadership has featured directors and dramaturgs whose careers span engagements at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe, and off-Broadway houses including Playwrights Horizons and Second Stage Theater. Administrative leadership has coordinated touring logistics with venues from the Kennedy Center to the Guthrie Theater and worked with unions and service organizations including Actors' Equity Association. Collaborations with guest directors have included artists associated with Peter Brook, Mike Nichols, and alumni directors from Yale Repertory Theatre.

Repertoire and Productions

Repertory choices have combined canonical works by William Shakespeare, Molière, Anton Chekhov, Sophocles, and Euripides with modern playwrights such as Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, August Wilson, and Lorraine Hansberry. The company has staged adaptations of texts by Homer and translations associated with scholars from Oxford University and productions directed by artists linked to Lincoln Center Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Productions have toured to the Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater, Old Globe Theatre, and university stages at Columbia University, Yale University, and Brown University.

Notable alumni and company members have gone on to credits on Broadway, in Hollywood, and in classical ensembles such as the Royal Shakespeare Company; actors have later appeared in productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Steppenwolf, Public Theater, and Manhattan Theatre Club. The company's repertoire has included ensemble-driven stagings influenced by directors associated with Peter Brook, experimental work reminiscent of Ellen Stewart and The Wooster Group, and musical collaborations with artists from institutions including the Juilliard School.

Training and Education Programs

The company has historically offered intensive actor training, residency programs, and apprenticeships modeled on conservatory programs at Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, and Carnegie Mellon University. Training emphasizes repertory performance, voice work tracing approaches from Michael Chekhov-influenced practitioners, movement practices linked to Jacques Lecoq, and text work grounded in Shakespeare performance scholarship from Oxford University and Cambridge University affiliates.

Education initiatives have partnered with schools and universities including New York University, Columbia University, and public arts programs in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Workshops and residencies have engaged with teachers and students at institutions like Harvard University and Princeton University, and with community partners in collaborations supported by foundations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Touring and Community Engagement

Touring has been central, with national circuits including performances at the Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, and regional houses across California, Texas, and the Northeast United States. Community engagement has included school matinees, educational outreach in partnership with public school districts, and collaborations with cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.

Tours have been coordinated in collaboration with presenters at venues like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Arena Stage, and university series at Yale University and Columbia University, often supported by grants from entities such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation. Community programs have connected alumni and company members with civic partners in cities including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C..

Category:Theatre companies in New York City