Theatre for a New Audience

New York, New York

Founded in 1979, Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a New York–based classical theater whose mission is to vitalize the performance and study of Shakespeare and classic drama, including modern classics. Over time, the company has grown from a touring Shakespeare company into a leading Off-Broadway theater; during its history, the company has produced 26 of the Bard's plays alongside classics and distinguished contemporary plays in the tradition of Shakespeare. TFANA produces award-winning artistic seasons of three productions annually, as well as touring internationally and sustaining the largest Shakespeare education program in the New York City Public Schools. The theatre's productions have earned many awards and nominations including the Tony, Drama Desk, Obie, and Lucille Lortel awards. In 2001–2002, the theatre became the first American theater company to be invited to perform Shakespeare at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and they were invited to return in March 2007 with their production of The Merchant of Venice featuring Academy Award–winner F. Murray Abraham. The a esthetically diverse roster of artists with whom the company works share the conviction that great drama expressed through great language will tell our stories, open our minds, and urge us to think about our world.

In 2007–2008, Theatre for a New Audience's World Theatre Project will serve students and teachers at New York City Public Schools throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Students will study and attend performances of the theatre's mainstage production of Antony and Cleopatra , which will employ a cast of 17 actors, presented at The Duke, a 199-seat Off-Broadway theater. Begun in 1984, the World Theatre Project is a 12-week residency that introduces middle-school students to Shakespeare. Serving roughly 1,600 students per year, it is the largest of TFANA's education programs. It comprises visits to the participating classrooms, led by a teaching artist in partnership with a classroom teacher; workshops tailored to focus on curriculum areas of interest, as determined by teachers and administrators for teaching drama and literature in the classroom; attendance at a student matinee of Antony and Cleopatra; and a culminating event in which students perform scenes they have written, based on the play, for parents, teachers, administrators, and their peers.

http://www.tfana.org/