Download pdf - The Campaign for Playwrights Horizons

THECAMPAIGN

FORPLAYWRIGHTS

HORIZONS

DEAR FRIENDS,

We frequently hear about the importance of investing in our national infrastructure. I would argue that our cultural infrastructure needs just as much investment. And theater, our oldest art form, is the foundation of that infrastructure, with playwrights fixed at the center.

As national discussions about complex issues deteriorate into shouted soundbites and differing perspectives are dismissed, our American playwrights grapple with the intricacies of our shared culture. They listen deeply to tell the stories, emerging out of our social fabric, that strengthen our communities.

And no theater in America cares more about writers for the theater than Playwrights Horizons.

For more than 40 years, we have developed and produced only new plays and musicals by American writers. This singular focus has resulted in an impressive canon of works that stretch the boundaries of the theatrical art form by some of our country’s most important writers. We present these works in spaces that are consciously kept small to foster deeper connections with audiences. And the consistently high caliber of our work, coupled with our national reputation as a leader in new play development, ensures subsequent productions in regional theaters, which bring these works to audiences across the country.

But there is so much more that can and must be done to foster the entire ecosystem—the ever widening community of diverse and vibrant writers, theater-makers, and

audiences—that supports the development and production of new plays and musicals.

To propel our vision forward, we have launched The Campaign for Playwrights Horizons. With participation from a broad community of supporters, we seek to fund a broad range of exciting artistic and organizational initiatives. I invite

you to join us and make an investment in our future. Together we will strengthen the foundation from which all of our artistic

endeavors grow.

Thank you.

Tim SanfordArtistic Director

Tracee Chimo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Heidi Schreck in Annie Baker’s CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION2009/2010 Season

Almost since its inception, Playwrights Horizons has been a mainstay of Off Broadway and possesses one of the most distinguished histories among New York’s producers of new work. The list of playwrights discovered or supported by the company over the years is practically A WHO’S WHO OF CONTEMPORARY DRAMA.”

– Charles Isherwood

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the1970sA HISTORY OF

ARTISTIC EXCELLENCEGuided by our artistic vision since 1971, Playwrights Horizons has presented audiences in New York with nearly 400 plays and musicals by more than 250 writers. Among other accolades, these productions have been honored with:

u 6 Pulitzer Prizesu 13 Tony Awardsu 39 Obie Awards

Beyond the two Playwrights Horizons stages, we have played an important role in the national theater community in the development of new plays and musicals. Our support for contemporary American writers has included:

u 400 Productions of New Worksu 950 Readings and Workshops of New Worksu 124 Writers Commissioned

Working with emerging theater professionals, we have provided advanced training and mentorship to:

3,000 Playwrights Horizons Theater School students, in association with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts250 Playwrights Horizons Theatrical Fellows, through an intensive theatrical career training program

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Kathy Bates, Jane Galloway, and Susan Merson in Jack Heifner’s VANITIES1975/1976 Season

the1980s

Joan Allen and Peter Friedman in Wendy Wasserstein’s THE HEIDI CHRONICLES1988/1989 Season

the1990s

LaChanze in Kirsten Childs’s THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRL SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN1998/1999 Season

Damon Gupton, Crystal A. Dickinson, Annie Parisse, and Jeremy Shamos in Bruce Norris’s CLYBOURNE PARK2009/2010 Season

the2000s

INVESTING INTHE FUTUREInspired by our successes and propelled by our passionate belief in our artistic vision, we have launched The Campaign for Playwrights Horizons, a $15 million fundraising effort in order to:

We may never have a better opportunity to invest in an am-bitious array of new programs and initiatives—the support of our audience is solid, our financial footing is secure, our national reputation in the field is strong. The results of The Campaign for Playwrights Horizons will significantly impact the landscape of the American Theater, increasing the op-portunities for a broad array of audiences to experience new works and providing a national network of theaters with a model for innovative new ways to support writers, take artistic risks, and build relationships among theaters, theater artists and audiences.

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Invest in New Plays and Musicalsto increase the number that are developed and produced

Invest in Writersto increase their compensation to enable them to earn a living wage as playwrights Invest in our Audienceto enhance their experience of seeing new works and to create new opportunities for engagement with artists and the work

Invest in our Futureto ensure the continued vitality of our artistic programs

Playwrights Horizons is one of the only theaters in New York exclusively dedicated to producing living playwrights. They are one of our beacons, our ships of safety. The fact that the lobby is decorated with text—honoring words from playwrights—says it all: THIS IS A PLACE WHERE THE WRITTEN WORD MATTERS.”

– Sarah Ruhl, Playwright

Dead Man’s Cell PhoneStage Kiss

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Jessica Hecht and Dominic Fumusa in Sarah Ruhl’s STAGE KISS2013/2014 Season

INVESTING INNEW PLAYS & MUSICALSPlaywrights Horizons has an unparalleled track record of developing and producing outstanding new plays and musicals. These works, emerging from our social fabric and always of the moment, are stories that enrich our understand-ing of ourselves, each other, and our shared culture.

With your support, Playwrights Horizons will:

Offer audiences an additional 1 to 2 productions each year, expanding our production season from 6 to 8 plays

Develop, present, and record the cast albums for 4 to 6 musicals over the next decade

Secure the resources to produce work of significant scale and ambition

Deepen our creative work in developing new plays and musicals through our New Works Lab program

Strengthen the pipeline of new works in development by supporting small theater companies that share our belief in the importance of new American work through a Resident Company Program

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PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS STANDS OUT AS A UNIQUE PLACE FOR WRITERS. Their utter dedication to developing a writer’s voice (rather than prescribing their own ideas or opinions), their willingness to take creative risks (even when coupled with a financial gamble), and their commitment to supporting the writer beyond the play, make the theater unlike any other.”

– Tanya Barfield, Playwright

Blue Door The Call

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André Holland in Tanya Barfield’s BLUE DOOR2006/2007 Season

INVESTING INWRITERSWe have made a commitment to transform the paradigm for compensating writers. This commitment grows from our be-lief that playwrights deserve to earn a fair and living wage for their extraordinary work.


Increase the size of our commissions for writers, making a deeper investment in the creation of new plays and musicals

Lead the field as the first non-profit theater in the nation to provide stipends toward a full year of health insurance for season production writers, writers we commission, and writers whose work we develop

Increase compensation for writers by providing payment for their pre-production time spent in auditions, design meetings, and rehearsals

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Amy Ryan and David Schwimmer in Lisa D’Amour’s DETROIT2012/2013 Season

I have been a Playwrights Horizons subscriber for three seasons, and will continue to subscribe every year. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE QUITE LIKE IT IN NEW YORK. It is exciting to be able to have substantive post-theater conversations about works-in-progress. It makes me feel as though I am a part of the process of making theater that is both personally and socially relevant and that is always made with integrity. Playwrights Horizons always genuinely gives me something to think about, and that is a guarantee I simply can’t find anywhere else.”

– Aileen-Marie Barry

Subscriber

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INVESTING INOUR AUDIENCETo ensure the future of our artistic programs—per-formances, readings, workshops, rehearsals, and events which reach thousands of theater-lovers each year—it is essential that we develop innovative ways to build deeper relationships with our current and prospective audiences.


Bring theater-lovers and artists together through expanded audience engagement programs

Deepen relationships with audiences through innova-tive programs using interactive technology in our public spaces, digital media tools, and new communication strategies

Provide more opportunities for audiences to see and engage with new works by making physical improvements in our two locations:

416 WEST 42ND STREETExpand seating capacity in The Peter Jay Sharp TheaterRedesign the lobby to create a more engaging space for visitors to interact with artists and each other before and after performances

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440 LAFAYETTE STREETIncrease performance and seating capacity in The Robert Moss TheaterMake essential sound-proofing improvements to our rehearsal studios

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THE WORKS AT PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS, TIME AND TIME AGAIN, ARE WORKS OF CONSEQUENCE. The plays they produce are active participants in the world. They have visions, desires, and a need to affect our culture, communities, and relationships. And perhaps it’s because the plays and musicals they produce are helping to dream our culture forward that Playwrights Horizons is moving the non-profit theater world forward too.”

– Taylor Mac, Playwright

Hir

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Tom Phelan, Cameron Scoggins, and Kristine Nielsen in Taylor Mac’s HIR2015/2016 Season

INVESTING INOUR THEATERWe will face many challenges in realizing our new artistic and operational initiatives—diminished sources of funding for the arts, increasing competition in the cultural marketplace, and the practical concerns of upgrading our theater and creative spaces while continuing our work—but risk-taking is our operating model and our success is measured in the new works we develop and present.


Establish a building reserve fund to ensure ongoing maintenance, improvements, and operation of our facilities

Augment existing reserve funds to allow for resiliency in times of financial uncertainty as well as organizational innovation

Ensure the continued vitality of our artistic programs by investing in our staff of theater professionals, including enhancing benefits and professional develop-ment opportunities

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416 West 42nd Street in the early 1970s. Opposite, the same location today.

Since 1971, the community that surrounds and supports Playwrights Horizons has helped us build an impressive track record of developing and presenting intelligent, inventive, and inspiring new American plays and musicals. The Campaign for Playwrights Horizons is a unique opportunity for our community to invest in:

Expansion of the productions and artistic programs they value and respectIncreased funding for artistic experimentationRichly deserved support for the writers who are central to our workEssential maintenance and physical upgrades to support these activities

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PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS416 West 42nd StreetNew York, NY 10036(212) 564-1235

www.PHnyc.org/Future

COVER IMAGES, LEFT TO RIGHT: Adrienne C. Moore in Milk Like Sugar, Amy Rosoff in Assistance, Lance Coadie

Williams in Bootycandy, Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens, Kelli O’Hara and Isaiah Johnson in Far from Heaven, and David Strathairn in Rodney’s Wife.

PHOTO CREDITS: Tim Sanford portrait by Zack DeZon. Building photo by Robert Davis. All production

photos by Joan Marcus, except: Detroit by Jeremy Daniel; The Heidi Chronicles by Peter Cunningham; Milk Like Sugar by Ari Mintz; and Vanities by Nathaniel Tileston.