First Avenue Playhouse

"Theatre for a New Audience has become the first American theater company to be invited to present a production of Shakespeare at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon, England." The New York TimesFounded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, the mission of Theatre for a New Audience is to help develop and vitalize the performance and study of Shakespeare and classic drama. Theatre for a New Audience produces for audiences Off-Broadway and has also toured nationally and internationally.Theatre for a New Audience finds the contemporary heart of the classics. A reverence for language, spirit of adventure and visual boldness, which supports the work of the writer and actor, mark the Theatre's productions. The Theatre nurtures relationships with some of the finest American and European directors, actors, designers and composers. Julie Taymor ( Tony Award-winning director of The Lion King ), Sir Peter Hall ( founder, Royal Shakespeare Company ), Mark Rylance ( Artistic Director, London s Globe ), Robert Woodruff ( Artistic Director, American Repertory Theatre ), Karin Coonrod ( Director ) and Bartlett Sher ( Artistic Director, Intiman Theatre ) are among major artists who maintain ongoing affiliations with the company. ( Click here for a timeline. )Theatre for a New Audience has an ongoing collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Cicely Berry, a master teacher and Director of Voice, RSC, leads the American Directors Project at TFANA, a mentoring program to support the development of American classical artists. This led to Theatre for a New Audience becoming the first American theatre company to be invited to bring a production of Shakespeare to the Royal Shakespeare Company. In November 2001, the Theatre's production of Cymbeline directed by Bartlett Sher premiered at the RSC, The Other Place Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon.Theatre for a New Audience's productions and their artists have been recognized with many awards and nominations, including the Lortel, Drama Desk, Drama League, OBIE and Tony. Several Theatre for a New Audience productions have gone on to a future life: TFANA's The Green Bird directed by Julie Taymor opened on Broadway in April 2000 and Titus Andronicus, also directed by Taymor and produced by TFANA in 1994, has been made into a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange.Throughout our more than 25 year history, Theatre for a New Audience has been an itinerant theatre, renting different spaces for rehearsals and performances, which has been challenging both economically and artistically. We are happy to announce that we are building our first permanent home in the BAM Cultural District in Downtown Brooklyn, which has been collaboratively designed by renowned architects Frank Gehry and Hugh Hardy. ( click here for images & further information )