Theatre for a New Audience

Theatre for a New Audience
Name	Theatre for a New Audience
City	New York City
Country	United States
Opened	1979

Theatre for a New Audience is an American nonprofit theatre company founded in 1979 and based in Brooklyn, New York City. The company is noted for producing classical and contemporary works with an emphasis on Shakespeare and modern translations, attracting audiences from Lincoln Center to Off-Broadway circuits. Collaborations and tours have linked the company with institutions such as Public Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and international festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Avignon Festival.

History

Theatre for a New Audience was established in 1979 by a group of artists influenced by theatrical practitioners such as Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski, and Ellen Stewart, and by movements including Off-Off-Broadway and the New York Shakespeare Festival. Early productions engaged actors who later worked with companies like the Royal Shakespeare Company, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Through the 1980s and 1990s the company developed relationships with translators and directors from the circles of Edward Albee, Joseph Papp, and Richard Foreman while mounting stagings that toured to venues associated with The Public Theater, American Repertory Theater, and Shakespeare in the Park. By the 2000s it had established a repertory identity comparable to institutions such as the Globe Theatre and The Old Vic and participated in cross-Atlantic exchanges with ensembles tied to Royal Court Theatre and Donmar Warehouse.

Mission and Artistic Vision

The company's mission foregrounds new approaches to classical texts informed by scholarship from institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Oxford. Its artistic vision integrates directors and designers rooted in traditions represented by Richard Eyre, Nicholas Hytner, and Peter Hall, and fosters playwrights and translators in the lineage of Tom Stoppard, Christopher Hampton, and Seamus Heaney. Programmatic aims align with grant-making bodies including the National Endowment for the Arts and foundations such as the Graham Foundation and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The organization emphasizes dramaturgical rigor drawing on archives like the Folger Shakespeare Library and scholarship from the Modern Language Association and the Shakespeare Association of America.

Productions and Programming

Productions have included canonical plays by William Shakespeare, modern classics by Anton Chekhov, and contemporary adaptations related to artists such as Bertolt Brecht and Federico García Lorca. The company’s seasons feature directors and actors who have collaborated with HBO, BBC, and National Theatre, and stagecraft employing designers from the circles of Es Devlin, Julie Taymor, and Miriam Buether. Co-productions and tours have linked the company to institutions including Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and the Kennedy Center. Festivals and retrospective programs have engaged curators and scholars connected to Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Eugene O'Neill. The repertoire often integrates translations by figures like Constance Garnett, Michael Handelman, and Paul Schmidt and has premiered new works commissioned from playwrights associated with August Wilson, Tony Kushner, and Suzan-Lori Parks.

Education and Community Engagement

Educational initiatives partner with universities and cultural organizations including New York University, Brooklyn College, and City University of New York. Programs offer workshops informed by practitioners from Stella Adler Studio of Acting, The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and Juilliard School, and internships that connect emerging artists to networks at Oresteia-style conservatories and conservatory programs like Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Community engagement collaborates with cultural nonprofits such as The Brooklyn Public Library, arts advocacy groups like Americans for the Arts, and youth organizations linked to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Educational outreach incorporates production-based curricula referencing editions from Arden Shakespeare, Oxford World's Classics, and Penguin Classics.

Leadership and Staff

Artistic leadership has included directors, dramaturgs, and executives with backgrounds linked to institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, Yale School of Drama, and Curtis Institute of Music. Administrators and producers have previously worked at Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Lincoln Center Education. Resident artists and company members have affiliations with ensembles like The Acting Company, Theatro Municipal, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Boards and advisory committees feature trustees and patrons from networks including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and philanthropic entities such as the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation.

Facilities and Venues

Theatre for a New Audience operates performance spaces and rehearsal facilities in Brooklyn Academy of Music-adjacent neighborhoods of DUMBO and has staged productions at venues ranging from intimate black-box theaters to stages at Avery Fisher Hall and Javits Center during festivals. The company’s chief venue was developed with architects influenced by firms like HOK, Foster + Partners, and SOM and includes technical capabilities comparable to houses such as The Shed and BAM Harvey Theater. Accessibility and patron services are coordinated with city agencies including the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and cultural tourism partners such as NYC & Company.

Category:Regional theatre companies in the United States