Primary Stages Theater

Primary Stages was founded in l984 by Casey Childs as a New York State non-profit theater company with the mission of producing new plays and fostering the artistic development of emerging and established playwrights.

In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years on West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theater.

History

Primary Stages has given life to more than 90 new plays, many of them world premieres, by writers such as Horton Foote, A.R. Gurney, Willy Holtzman, Julia Jordan, Romulus Linney, Donald Margulies, Christopher Durang, Terrence McNally, John Henry Redwood, John Patrick Shanley, Mac Wellman, Lee Blessing, and David Ives.

Primary Stages 9th season included the world premiere of "All in the Timing" by David Ives, the most produced play in the United States during the 1995/1996 season

[http://www.tcg.org/publications/at/ATtopten.cfm#1995]

Primary Stages 2007-2008 season included:

"Opus" by Michael Hollinger, "Dividing the Estate" by Horton Foote, "Hunting and Gathering" by Brooke Berman, and "Something You Did" by Willy Holtzman.

"Dividing the Estate" was so well received by audiences during its Primary Stages run in 2007 that it will transfer to Broadway in Fall 2008, in association with the Lincoln Center Theater.

Education

Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group

Primary Stages is host to the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, which brings together six to eight emerging playwrights with the specific mission of creating new works for the American theater. The Group meets weekly to share and receive constructive feedback on the development of new works from its members along with the Primary Stages Artistic Director, Associate Artistic Director, and Literary Manager. Since its inception, over 45 full-length plays have been written in the Group, many of which have been produced by prominent local and national theaters including Long Wharf Theatre, Blue Light, South Coast Repertory, The New Group, New York Stage and Film, Cherry Lane Theatre, and of course, Primary Stages.

Current Members: Courtney Baron, Neena Beber, Maria Alexandria Beech, Darren Canady, David Caudle, Rogelio Martinez

Past Members: Tanya Barfield, Brooke Berman, Andrew Case, Cusi Cram, Josh Fox, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Rinne Groff, Jerome Hairston, Rolin Jones, Julia Jordan, Dan O’Brien, Edwin Sanchez, Lucy Thurber, and Sheri Wilner.

Primary Stages School of Theater

This year, we expanded our playwriting classes into what is now the Primary Stages School of Theater, an artistic hub for playwrights, actors, and artists to collaborate. The School offers 3-month courses in Advanced Scene Study and Playwriting as well as exclusive workshops in Producing, Stage Combat, Auditioning Techniques and Musical Theater Acting. PSST is another example of Primary Stages mission to nurture and develop new works by rising talent from all walks of life, in all stages of their careers.

Awards

Over the years, the company has received considerable critical acclaim and numerous theater and literary awards and nominations, including Obie, AUDELCO, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards. "The Fourth Wall, All in the Timing, The Old Settler, Missing/Kissing, The Model Apartment, Scotland Road, You Should Be So Lucky, The Stendhal Syndrome, Sabina, Dividing the Estate" and "In The Continuum" are among the many plays brought to national attention by Primary Stages.

This past 2007-2008 season alone, Primary Stages has received 13 nominations, 4 wins, as well as a special Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

[http://www.primarystages.com/about.htm]

Notable Actors Who Have Appeared On Stage With Primary

*Calista Flockhart
*T.R. Knight
*Richard Thomas
*Kyra Sedgwick
*Leslie Uggams
*David Greenspan
*Brian Cox
*Isabella Rossellini
*Nathan Lane
*Charles Kimbrough
*Sandy Duncan
*Larry Pine
*George Wendt
*Nell Campbell
*Allison Janney
*Hallie Foote
*Ellen McLaughlin
*Gerald McRaney
*Penny Fuller
*Amy Irving
*Charles Grodin
*L. Scott Campbell
*Estelle Parsons
*Marian Seldes
*John McMartin
*Elizabeth Ashley
*Arthur French
*Susan Sullivan
*Joanna Gleason

External links

* [http://www.primarystages.com Primary Stages website]
* [http://www.59e59.org 59E59 Theaters website]