MARIN THEATRE COMPANY

Geographic areas served: Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Sonoma, and Napa counties

Programs: The Subscription Series – Each season we produce six classic, contemporary and new works in the 231-seat Herb and Grace Boyer Theatre and in our 99-seat Lieberman Theatre. Each performance (except Saturday) is followed by a talkback session led by a member of MTC’s artistic staff. We present approximately 180-200 performances annually and serve an audience of more than 40,000. New Play Program – Designed to foster the development and production of new American plays and playwrights, this program has four distinct phases: • Commissioning of new plays –MTC has commissioned one to two plays per year since 2005 when this program began. Particular emphasis is placed on commissions to Bay Area playwrights. This season MTC has commissioned Steve Yockey to write Tall Tales and Carson Kreitzer to write Lasso of Truth, a play about the creator of Wonder Woman. • Two national playwriting prizes – MTC awards two New American Play Prizes each year: The Sky Cooper New American Play Prize and the David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize. The Sky Cooper Prize celebrates the work of the American playwright and encourages the creation of bold, powerful new voices and plays for the American stage. It is awarded annually to either an established or emerging playwright for an outstanding new work. The winner receives a $10,000 award and a production in the next season. The David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize award was established in support of the Theatre’s commitment to the discovery and development of new and emerging American playwrights. The Calicchio Prize is awarded annually to a professionally unproduced playwright for a new work that shows outstanding promise and a distinctive new voice for the American theatre. The Calicchio winner receives a $2,500 award and a workshop with two readings as part of our New Works Series. We are committed to these awards with full funding through the 2011-2012 season. The 2010 Sky Cooper New American Play Prize has been awarded to Bill Cain for 9 Circles (Bill Cain’s critically acclaimed Equivocation received its Bay Area premiere at MTC last spring). Cain received a $10,000 award accompanied by the world premiere production of 9 Circles at MTC that ran from Oct. 14 through Nov. 7, 2010. The 2010 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize has been awarded to Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig for Lidless. She received $2,500 and Lidless received a staged reading in our New Works series on Nov. 22, 2010. The winners this year were selected from 380 eligible submissions. • New Works Series – MTC’s unique New Works Series provides playwrights with a week of rehearsal (25 hours) and two public staged readings – more development time than almost any other new play series in the country. The series of three to four plays per year is presented free-of-charge to our patrons and includes a talkback session following each reading to allow the audience to discuss the play with the playwright, director and actors. • World Premiere Productions – The pinnacle of the New Play Program is a full production in either the Boyer or Lieberman Theatre as part of our subscription season. These productions receive local and national media attention, and often receive numerous productions after our premieres. MTC has committed to producing at least one world premiere play each season through the 2011-2012 season. In 2009, MTC premiered Zayd Dorn’s Magic Forest Farm; in 2010, the National New Play Network World Premiere of Sunlight by Sharr White and in 2010-2011, 9 Circles by Bill Cain. Expanded Programs – In conjunction with our productions, we offer enhanced theatrical experiences for our patrons. MTC Engaged! offers patrons opportunities to forge a deeper connection to the work on stage and to participate in the artistic process including: • Pre- and post-show discussions with artists, guest lecturers and members of the MTC artistic staff. • An interactive website featuring blogs, video trailers and podcasts, patron reviews and Dramapedia, a dramaturgical reference site. Theatre Arts Education Programs – MTC’s theatre arts programs are instrumental in creating audiences of tomorrow. We bring students, teachers, actors and playwrights together in creative learning through theater-making. Our programs engage students, many from underserved communities, in theatre processes that empower a sense of ownership towards their own artistic impulses and lay the groundwork for future participation in theatre and the arts. Our programs include: • School Classes – Performance and playwriting classes are held at schools and community centers throughout Marin, both within the school day as well as after-school, either at no cost to the school or for a small tuition fee. • MTC on Tour! – MTC produces one to two touring productions specifically for young audiences. In the 2009-10 season, we commissioned and presented Animal vs. Animal: An Aesop’s Fables Mash-up (based on Aesop’s Fables), written by our 09-10 playwright in residence, Steve Yockey. We have once again commissioned Steve to write a 45-minute new stage adaptation of Tall Tales for elementary school students. American Tall Tales are on the California Department of Education recommended literature list for reading and language arts. Each performance is for up to 299 students and an optional creative drama workshop with the actors is available. • Student Matinees – In 2009-2010, MTC presented student matinee performances for Chaim Potok’s My Name is Asher Lev and Bill Cain’s Equivocation. Over 900 hundred students attended these special matinee performances. Four student matinees were performed for Tarell McCraney’s In the Red and Brown Water and two will be presented for Chekhov’s Seagull. • The Marin Young Playwrights Festival – Our newest educational program, MYPF, celebrates the work of teen playwrights and encourages a focus on playwriting in Bay Area high schools. Eight finalist plays are performed by teens in an event at Marin Theatre Company. The play selected as the MYPF winner receives a staged reading with professional actors, open to the public at MTC. • Young Writers Group – The playwrights selected as finalists (and possibly additional playwrights selected by MTC’s Artistic Staff) are invited to join MTC’s Young Writers Group. The YWG meets monthly in a safe, constructive environment to practice and develop writing skills. Guest speakers include professional playwrights and MTC’s Literary Manager and Dramaturg. • MTC Summer Camp – Approximately 75-100 students participate in fully staged musical theatre productions; one for elementary school age thespians; one for middle school and one for teens. We offer low teacher-student ratios and a wide variety of classes including: Clowning (taught by Bay Area legend Joan Mankin), Puppetry and last summer, Beatboxing with actor Daveed Diggs (who appeared in the first production of our 2010/11 main stage season, In the Red & Brown Water). Our acting, singing, and dance classes are assisted by a team of interns from all over the country (including one from Australia in 2010). The 2010 statistics for the camp: 74 participating students, 10 interns, 20 teaching artists and 22 students receiving scholarships. • Teacher’s Night Out – One hundred Marin county teachers per show are invited to attend a pre-show discussion and performance free of charge. MTC encourages the teachers to take advantage of our programs and get their students more involved. • Teen Advisory Board – Marin Theatre Company’s Teen Advisory Board is a group of passionate and dedicated high school students who serve as ambassadors between MTC and the teen community in Marin County. Teen Board members produce The Marin Young Playwrights Festival – MTC’s new playwriting competition for teens – as well as help plan MTC’s summer camps, observe rehearsals for MTC main stage productions, participate in advanced acting lessons, attend monthly meetings and receive free tickets to MTC productions.