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Urban Stages Theater
259 West 30th Street (bet 7th and 8th Avenues)
212.868.4444
Urban Stages Adm. Office:
17 East 47th Street, NYC 10017
212.421.1380
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| ABOUT US
What Is Urban Stages?
Urban Stages is an award-winning nonprofit Off-Broadway Theatre Company founded in 1984 by current Artistic Director Frances Hill. Over the past 23 years, Urban Stages has produced over 68 productions, most of them world premieres. We have a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, two Drama Desk nominations, an Outer Critic's Circle Award, an Obie nomination, and eight Audelco nominations. Two of our plays, Men on the Verge of an Hispanic Breakdown, by Guillermo Reyes, and Minor Demons, by Bruce Graham, were subsequently moved to commercial theatres. Chili Queen, a play by newscaster Jim Lehrer, was moved to the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Numerous projects developed at Urban Stages have been adapted into film and television projects, including Scar, by Murray Mednick, Conversations with the Goddesses, by Agapi Stassinopoulos, and Cotton Mary, by Alexandra Viets, and most have had further productions, commercially, regionally, and abroad. We have a history of commercial moves and of discovering and introducing new writers to the theatre community and having their plays become part of the theatrical repertory. Recent productions have been published in the Smith and Kraus anthologies Best Plays of 2003, Best Plays of 2004, and Best Plays of 2005.
What is the Mission Statement?
The mission of Urban Stages (uS) is to discover, nurture and produce exceptional new works by artists of diverse cultural backgrounds thereby ginving them a venue to address the multi-faceted issues facing our contemporary world. From our open submission policy to our open casting policies, Urban Stages is commited to finding and developing new professional theater artists that represent the whole of our society. This aritst nurturing process is accomplished in every facet of our four-tiered new works development programming.
An Overview of the Urban Stages' Organization
In 23 years Urban Stages has developed into a bigger and more diverse organization. From just developing and producing new plays, we have initiated our outreach program in the schools and libraries with various types of programming to meet both the needs of the ages of constituents, and the community. We have acquired a charming theatre at 259 West 30th Street with 75 seats, two rehearsal rooms, workshop and storage. In addition Urban Stages also initiated a new program this past season of a Summer Theatre Camp Program for 11 to 14 year olds. The following is an outline of our play development and production work:
1. Play development and productions.
A. Play development at the Mercantile Library - Staged readings of new plays by professional actors are scheduled in a series of 8 Monday evenings at the Mercantile Library (oldest private library in New York), one series in October and November, the other in March and April. Plays are rehearsed with the best of New York actors and directors, read with a discussion afterwards with the author. Evenings open to the public
2. Developmental workshops. Workshops of new plays continue to be held in the theatre with actors and directors
3. Plays go into Outreach Program. Many of these plays go into our outreach program and are performed with professional actors in our libraries for the adult literacy programs with large audiences.
4. Urban Stages productions. Urban Stages produces 3 Off Broadway plays a season under and Actors Equity mini-contract The New York Times theatre critics always review our productions, as do other reviewers. We are the recipient of an Outer Critics Award, and several Drama Desk and Audelco Nominations.
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