Ensemble Studio Theatre

Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) was founded in the belief that extraordinary support yields extraordinary work. We are committed to the discovery and nurturing of new voices and new plays, but also to the continued support and growth of artists throughout their creative lives. Our programs focus on both process and product – each year we engage over 150 artists and 13,000 audience members through commissions, readings, workshops or full-blown productions at our theatre. Since its founding in 1968 by Curt Dempster and a group of 20 other theatre artists including Jerry Zaks and Danny DeVito, the company has won multiple awards and produced over 6,000 new works, helping launch the careers of hundreds of playwrights, actors and directors while contributing dozens of significant new works to the American theatrical canon. EST gave professional debuts to writers such as Christopher Durang and John Patrick Shanley, among many others; recent audiences have witnessed important world premieres including Robert Askins’ Hand To God, Lucas Hnath’s Isaac’s Eye, and Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51. Leading programs include the EST/Sloan Foundation Project, the nation's premiere science theatre program for new works; EST/Youngblood, the Obie Award-winning program for diverse playwrights in their 20s; and the world-renowned biennial EST Marathon of One-Act Plays. In the past year we produced four world premieres, one of which was nominated for a NY Outer Critics Circle Award.