Organization: NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Mission: THROUGH THE PUBLIC THEATER, SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK AND JOE'S PUB, NYSF IS DEDICATED TO DEVELOPING AN AMERICAN THEATER THAT IS ACCESSIBLE AND RELEVANT TO ALL PEOPLE.
Activities: DOWNTOWN SEASONTHE PUBLIC THEATER'S MAINSTAGE SEASON AT 425 LAFAYETTE STREET FEATURES A DIVERSE LINE-UP OF NEW PLAYS AND MUSICALS, AS WELL AS SHAKESPEARE AND OTHER CLASSICS, IN FIVE THEATERS. THE DOWNTOWN PROGRAMMING AIMS TO PRESENT THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES OF THE TIME, AS TOLD BY THE FIELD'S MOST CUTTING-EDGE VOICES, TO THE BROADEST POSSIBLE AUDIENCE. TWO PLAYS RECEIVED THEIR WORLD PREMIERE - RICHARD NELSON'S THE MICHAELS AND JESSICA BLANK AND ERIC JENSEN'S COAL COUNTRY. THE SEASON ALSO INCLUDED THE NEW YORK PREMIERE OF SOFT POWER BY DAVID HENRY HWANG AND JEANINE TESORI, AND REVIVALS OF TONY KUSHNER'S A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY AND FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE / WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF BY NTOZAKE SHANGE. THE SIXTEENTH UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL, A PLATFORM FOR US-BASED AND INTERNATIONAL DEVISED THEATER GROUPS, PRESENTED THE WORK OF CONTEMPORARY THEATER COMPANIES FEATURING ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKFREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK AT THE DELACORTE THEATER IN CENTRAL PARK EMBODIES THE PUBLIC THEATER'S MISSION TO OFFER THE HIGHEST QUALITY WORK TO EVERYONE, FREE OF CHARGE. SINCE ITS INCEPTION MORE THAN 5 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE ENJOYED PERFORMANCES BY BOTH EMERGING AND WORLD-RENOWNED ARTISTS. CONTINUING A LONG-HELD TRADITION, ALL TICKETS FOR SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK ARE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE THROUGH A VARIETY OF DISTRIBUTION METHODS IN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS DESIGNED TO MAXIMIZE ACCESSIBILITY. FOR PATRONS WITH HEARING AND VISION IMPAIRMENTS, THE PUBLIC THEATER OFFERS A SIGN-INTERPRETED, OPEN-CAPTIONED AND AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE FOR EACH PRODUCTION. THE 2020 FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK SEASON WAS CANCELED DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
JOE'S PUBONE OF NEW YORK CITY'S MOST CELEBRATED VENUES FOR EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED PERFORMANCE ARTISTS, JOE'S PUB IS COMMITTED TO REFLECTING THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY THAT IT REPRESENTS IN ITS AUDIENCE AND ON ITS STAGE BY PROGRAMMING A VARIETY OF HIGH-QUALITY PERFORMANCES, WHILE KEEPING TICKET PRICES AT A MINIMUM. NAMED FOR PUBLIC THEATER FOUNDER JOE PAPP, JOE'S PUB DEBUTED IN 1998 AND PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN THE PUBLIC THEATER'S MISSION OF SUPPORTING YOUNG ARTISTS WHILE PROVIDING ESTABLISHED ARTISTS WITH AN INTIMATE SPACE TO PERFORM AND DEVELOP NEW WORK. AS PART OF THE PUBLIC THEATER'S 2019-20 PROGRAMMING DOWNTOWN AT 425 LAFAYETTE STREET, JOE'S PUB PRESENTED TALENT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, HOSTING APPROXIMATELY 400 SHOWS AND SERVING OVER 50,000 AUDIENCE MEMBERS. THE DIVERSE ROSTER OF PROGRAMMING FEATURED TOP PERFORMERS FROM BROADWAY, CABARET, DANCE, WORLD, SINGER-SONGWRITER, JAZZ, COUNTRY AND INDIE GENRES.
NTEE category: Arts, Culture & Humanities
Secondary category: Environment