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Theatreworks USA is a professional, not-for-profit theatre for young and family audiences founded in 1961. The company is based out of New York City, but has touring productions that run through forty-nine states as well as parts of Canada. Plays and musicals produced by Theatreworks, which are staffed exclusively by actors and stage managers who are members of the Actors' Equity Association, have reached over 90 million children, teachers and families since the company's founding. According to their mission statement, Theatreworks has three main programs: Class Trips, Touring, and Free Summer Theatre. They also help operate Chelsea Studios, a popular rehearsal space.

Productions

While Theatreworks is known largely for their touring shows, their seasonal roster also includes free theatre for families without the means to see live, professional theatre. The material the company performs ranges from the classical work of William Shakespeare to musical revues appropriate for young children. Theatreworks has been reviewed positively by The New York Times, The New York Post, Newsday, and The Village Voice among others.

Free Summer Theatre

Since 1989 Theatreworks USA's Free Summer Theatre has provided young people and families with original, professional theatre free of charge. Each summer, tickets are distributed to children in over 200 social service and youth programs throughout the five boroughs. To date, over 300,000 children have attended free productions of some of the company's most popular shows, including Junie B. Jones, Romeo and Juliet, and Sarah, Plain and Tall. According to their own literature Theatreworks believes "all children should experience the excitement of going to the theatre, regardless of their financial circumstances." Roma Torre, a NY1 reporter, has said the following of the program[1]:

TWUSA has done it again. Not only is the company’s latest production yet another extremely delightful book adaptation for children—it’s free. It’s one splendid hour of music, laughter, life lessons and the art of putting on a show.

The program has grown wildly, playing to packed houses nearly every day. Waiting lists are common place, and ticket demand continually outnumbers the supply.

Theatreworks USA's production of The Civil War will make its Off-Broadway debut at the Lucille Lortel Theatre for the 2013 Free Summer Theatre program. The Civil War will run from July 15, 2013 until August 16, 2013.

Touring productions

During the fall and winter season, TheatreworksUSA tours its musicals and plays nationwide. The repertoire includes productions that fall into three general categories - history & biography, literary adaptations, and original issue shows, such as discrimination, peer-pressure, literacy, and substance abuse, among many others. These shows will usually perform over one hundred times each. The groups are usually made up of anywhere between four to twelve actors and one or two stage managers. Typically, each season consists of twelve musicals and four plays.

Current repertoire

Theatreworks is now booking the 2013-2014 season[2], which will include:

Managed Artists

In addition to their plays and musicals, Theatreworks USA offers unique, educational presentations by highly talented artists for school and public performances. Included are historical productions, as well as stories, songs and dance from many cultures featuring authentic artists who entertain as well as teach about their traditions. Artists and their shows include[3]:

  • The Balsters -- large-scale magic (Duck Soup; Season's Greetings; The Wizard's Apprentice)
  • History's Alive -- Patrick Garner's interactive historical impersonations (Thomas Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park; Thomas Edison: Inventor, Lecturer & Prankster; The Lewis & Clark Expedition; Benjamin Franklin: America's First Citizen; The Wright Brothers and Sister; American Tall Tales; Houdini and the Magic of Thinking Big)
  • Jim West Puppet Productions-- Large-scale puppeteering (Aesop's Fables; Aesop's Fables II; Dinosaurs; How The Elephant Got His Trunk & Other Animal Tales)
  • Yarina -- Music and dance of the Andes (Remembrances of Equador)
  • Retumba! -- Cultural song and dance (Journey from the Caribbean)
  • Felix Pitre -- Latin-American Storyteller (Animal Tales; Mexican Legends & Songs; Stories & Songs of Latin America)
  • Up in Arms -- Anti-bullying Puppetry (Helping Drew; Welcome Park)
  • Living Voices' Productions -- Anne Frank, immigration, and more! (La Causa; Here my Voice: Win the Vote; Island of Hope; Journey from the Dust; Native Vision; The New American; Northwest Passage; Our Revolution; The Right to Dream; Through the Eyes of A Friend; The World of Anne Frank; Within the Silence)
  • Queen Nur -- African-American Storyteller (Sweet Potato Pie & Such; Kwanzaa; The Bully-Free Zone; Voices of Courage: Profiles of 19th Century African-American Women)
  • Johnny the K -- Motivational storyteller/musician (Citizens of the World; A Family Night to Remember; I Can, I Am and I Will; Speaking Out Against Bullying; Turn the World Around; You Can Say No)
  • Broadway Teaching Group -- (The American Revolution in 45-Minutes)

Alumni artists

Theatreworks has a history of giving young actors, writers, directors, and designers their first professional break. Amongst the alumni are four-time Tony Award winning director Jerry Zaks, Robert Jess Roth (Beauty and the Beast), Michael Mayer (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Gabriel Barre; writers Marta Kauffman and David Crane (TV's "Friends"), Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island), Jason Robert Brown (Parade), Larry O'Keefe (Bat Boy: The Musical), Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (Avenue Q); and Tony-winning actors Roger Bart, Chuck Cooper, John Lloyd Young, and John Glover. Esteemed performers Jesse Tyler Ferguson, F. Murray Abraham, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Henry Winkler, and Judy Kuhn also got their start with Theatreworks.

Awards

Theatreworks has won many awards in its long history[4]. Some of these honors include:

  • 1996 Drama Desk Award given by New York theatre critics for Theatreworks' "35 years of providing quality entertainment to children and their parents.
  • 1996 Lucille Lortel Award given by Off Broadway theatres and producers, for "Outstanding Special Achievement."
  • 1996 Staw Hat Award for Best Play awarded to The Color of Justice.
  • 1984 AUDELCO Award at the Twelfth Annual Black Theatre Awards for Play to Win, a musical about Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. The award was for "best writing of a new show by black authors for the non-commercial theatre."

Chelsea Studios

In 2000, Theatreworks established Chelsea Studios, a rehearsal studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.[5][6] In addition to providing a rehearsal space for Theatreworks's productions, Chelsea also rents its studios out to casting agents, touring productions, exercise classes, and various other clients.

References

  1. ^ NY1 News; 2006-07-20; Where To Go: "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie," Arthur's Great Summer, Dirty Sock Funtime Band; NY1; Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  2. ^ TheatreworksUSA - Class Trips 2013-2014
  3. ^ TheatreworksUSA - Managed Artists
  4. ^ TheatreworksUSA - Awards, Honors, and Recognitions for TheatreworksUSA
  5. ^ Chelsea Studios / TheatreworksUSA
  6. ^ Facebook - Chelsea Studios
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