Second Stage Theatre

Programs: As one of the leading non-profit theater companies in new york city, second stage theater's mission is to produce world premieres by america's playrights; give new life to contemporary american plays through "second stageings;offer programs that foster young theater artists and future theater professionals. Works developed at second stage have flourished on broadway, at regional theaters, and abroad. Dear evan hansen has found extraordinary success on broadway, where it recently won six tony awards, including best musical, best score, and best book of a musical. The provocative and timely smart people by lydia r. Diamond was seen at true colors theater in atlanta following its run at second stage, and has productions scheduled in 2017-18 in new haven, denver, and washington, dc. Finally, sex with strangers by laura eason remains one of the most-produced plays in the country, with recent productions in atlanta, los angeles, and philadelphia, to name just a few. In total, through touring and regional productions of plays that originated here, our work reached an estimated audience of 500,000 around the world last year. 2016-17 season: our 38th season included a diverse mix of plays and musicals by second stage alumni as well as artists new to the theater, with one world premiere and three new york premiere productions: the season began with notes from the field, an inspiring new piece created, written, and performed by anna deavere smith. The play depicted the personal accounts of students, parents, teachers and administrators caught in americas school-to-prison pipeline. Directed by leonard foglia and featuring music performed by marcus shelby, the show ran from october 15 - december 18, 2016, and was seen by 18,028 people. It received the lucille lortel award for best solo show and a special citation from the obie awards. Next up was man from nebraska by pulitzer prize and tony award-winner tracy letts. The play examines what happens when ken, a middle aged man from nebraska, suddenly finds hes lost his faith. The play was directed by david cromer, and played from january 26 march 26, 2017 to a total audience of 16,288. Our summer show was a parallelogram by tony award-winning playwright bruce norris. This dark comedy asks the question: if we knew what would happen in our lives, would we accept our fate or try to change things? The show was directed by michael greif, and ran from july 11 august 20. It was seen by 9,873 people. We also staged one show at the mcginn/cazale theater through 2st uptown, the world premiere of somebodys daughter by chisa hutchinson. Directed by may adrales, the play tells the story of alex, a fifteen year old asian-american girl going to extremes to get her mother to notice her. Somebodys daughter ran from may 23 june 25, and was seen by 3,058 people. Additional programs for artists as part of our commitment to developing new work and enhancing the landscape of contemporary american theater, we regularly commission works from talented playwrights at various points in their careers. We have recently launched partnerships with the center theater group in los angeles, the williamstown theater festival, and true colors theater in atlanta to jointly commission and develop work. We commissioned 8 new writers in fy2017, including will eno, jon robin baitz, dominique morriseau, lydia diamond, bess wohl, young jean lee,paula vogel, and lisa kron. Throughout the year, we also hold readings and workshops, working with both emerging and established playwrights and directors to help them develop their newest work for the stage. We hosted 17 readings in fy2017, for projects including the lypsinka project by john epperson and jonathan tollins; flying over sunset by tom kitt, james lapine, and michael korie; and superhero by tom kitt and john logan. Education and outreach second stages productions serve as the basis for a variety of education and outreach programs. Our free student matinees bring 1,000 students from nyc public schools to second stage theater each year. For many students, this experience is their first exposure to live, professionally-produced theater. Prior to the performance, students and teachers receive copies of a study guide that introduces them to the play and encourages them to think critically about the plays subject matter. A post-show discussion with the cast and creative team provides a deeper exploration of the play by allowing students to inquire about the shows themes and the creative theatrical process. Through our second generation program, we invite 450 students from community colleges to attend an evening performance of our mainstage productions with the aim of providing more young people with free access to the theater and building future audiences. The evening begins with a pre-show reception at the theater, and after the show students participate in a talkback with members of the plays creative team and 2st artistic staff. We also run the popular summer student leadership forum, which brings fifteen high school and college students into our offices for intensive and hands-on ten-week internships. These aspiring theater professionals gain exposure to the day-to-day operations of the theater, and synthesize their learnings in weekly meetings with guest speakers from the 2st staff as well as the larger theatrical community. For many young people, the high cost of tickets prevents them from attending the theater; second stage theaters subsidized ticket program aims to decrease this barrier by offering deeply discounted tickets to students and young people. For each performance, we offer youth advance tickets ($30 for mainstage, $20 for 2st uptown). Student rush tickets can be purchased one hour before each performance ($23 for mainstage, $10 for 2st uptown), subject to availability. This program continues to be extremely popular, having served approximately 2,600 young people last season. Finally, in order to make theater more accessible to the visually impaired and deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, we offer open captioned and audio described performances for all of our mainstage productions.