Primary Stages Company Inc

We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing individual playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work.

Primary Stages Productions

The 2012/2013 Season marks our 28th year of pro­ducing new work for the American stage and our 8th year as Resident Theater Company of 59E59 The­aters. Our productions have been widely and consis­tently recognized for artistic excellence by industry standard bearers. We are particularly honored to be the recipient of a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

Past productions include last season’s Olive and the Bitter Herbs by Charles Busch; Motherhood Out Loud conceived by Susan rose and Joan Stein; Rx by Kate Fodor; and The Morini Strad by Willy Holtzman. Other notable works include A.R. Gurney’s Indian Blood (2007 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play); Horton Foote’s Dividing the Es­tate (Two 2009 Tony Award® nominations); Brooke Berman’s Hunting and Gathering (one of New York Magazine’s Top Ten Plays of 2008); Terrence McNal­ly’s Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams (starring Nathan Lane and Marian Seldes) and The Stendhal Syndrome (featuring Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas); Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter’s In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa and Scotland); David Ives’ All in the Timing; and Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas (the author’s U.S. debut).

Play Development Programs

Primary Stages aids writers in the development of their plays through readings, workshops, commissions, and dramaturgical support. Through partnerships with universities and national festivals, we offer our writ­ers retreat-like atmospheres in which to develop their work and to connect with audiences outside New York. Throughout the year, we host our PrimeTime Read­ing Series, a public forum for playwrights to hear their work read aloud and to gain initial feedback from col­leagues and our audiences.

Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group

Primary Stages Writers Group is a small collec­tive of early-career playwrights, hand-picked by our artistic staff from among New York City’s brightest and most fascinating voices. Members meet weekly in the fall and winter to share work-in-progress with the goal of drafting a full-length play. Their work is celebrated in the Dorothy Strelsin Fresh Ink Read­ing Series at the end of every theater season. During their three-year membership, Primary Stages serves as an artistic home and continually seeks out production, commissioning, and networking opportuni­ties for our members. We have been proud to produce a number of works by alums, including Edwin Sanchez, Julia Jordan, Brooke Berman, Cusi Cram, Jessica Goldberg.

The Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA)

ESPA provides extensive opportunities for emerging artists, professionals and lifelong learners to collabo­rate with working artists while building strong relation­ships within the New York theater community. Work developed by ESPA students has been produced by Off-Off- and Off-Broadway theaters in New York and regional venues across the country. Students have moved on to study at such prestigious graduate pro­grams as The Juilliard School, University of Texas at Austin and Yale School of Drama.

 

Arts Education

Primary Stages is proud to serve New York City public high school students through our free Student Mati­nee Series, which we have offered since 1995, and in-school program Primary Voices.