Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

, William H. Macy, and 30 of their acting students from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, inspired by the historical examples of the Group Theatre and Stanislavski. Atlantic believes that the story of a play and the intent of its playwright are at the core of the creative process. The company operates two theaters in the

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. There is the 199-seat mainstage Linda Gross Theater, which is located at 336 West 20th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, in the parish hall of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, built in 1854 and renovated in 2012. Additionally, the 99-seat

black-box theater A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

, Stage 2, is located at 330 West 16th Street, also between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, in the former Port Authority building. Stage 2, which opened in June 2006, is the home of Atlantic’s development program for new plays, which encompasses the commissioning of new works, readings, workshops, and fully staged productions.

Productions

Since its inception, Atlantic has produced more than 200 plays, including the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winning productions of '' Spring Awakening'' and '' The Band's Visit'', David Mamet’s adaptation of ''

The Voysey Inheritance ''The Voysey Inheritance'' is a play in five acts by the English dramatist Harley Granville-Barker. Written in 1903–1905, it was originally staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 1905 featuring Mabel Hackney, and revived at the same venue in 196 ...

'' by

Harley Granville Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...

, Mamet’s ''Romance'', Joe Penhall’s '' Blue/Orange'', ''

Dublin Carol ''Dublin Carol'' is a play by Conor McPherson, which premiered in London at the Royal Court Theatre in 2000. Plot John, a middle-aged employee of a funeral home in Dublin, returns from a funeral on Christmas Eve with Mark, a 20-year-old who has h ...

'' by

Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the Un ...

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

’s ''Writer’s Block'', the revival of '' Hobson's Choice'', the revivals of Mamet's ''

American Buffalo American Buffalo may refer to: *American Buffalo (play), ''American Buffalo'' (play), a play by David Mamet *American Buffalo (film), ''American Buffalo'' (film), a 1996 film of Mamet's play directed by Michael Corrente *American Buffalo (coin), a ...

'', '' The Woods'', and ''Edmond'', ''

Dangerous Corner ''Dangerous Corner'' was the first play by the English writer J. B. Priestley. It was premiered in May 1932 by Tyrone Guthrie at the Lyric Theatre, London, and filmed in 1934 by Phil Rosen. Priestley had recently collaborated with Edward Kno ...

'' by

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

, ''

The Cider House Rules ''The Cider House Rules'' (1985) is a novel by American writer John Irving, a ''Bildungsroman'' that was later adapted into a 1999 film and a stage play by Peter Parnell. The story, set in the pre– and post–World War II era, tells of a youn ...

'', adapted by

Peter Parnell Peter Parnell (; born 1953) is an American Broadway and Off-Broadway playwright, television writer, and children's book author. Parnell is also Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America, the professional association of playwrights, compo ...

, ''Celebration'', ''The Room'' and ''The Hothouse'' by Harold Pinter, ''Mojo'' by

Jez Butterworth Jeremy "Jez" Butterworth (born March 1969) is an English playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has written screenplays in collaboration with his brothers, John-Henry and Tom. Life and career In March 1969, Butterworth was born in Lo ...

, the New York premieres of Howard Korder’s ''Boys’ Life'' and ''The Lights'' at Lincoln Center Theater, Kevin Heelan’s ''Distant Fires'', Quincy Long’s ''The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite'' and ''Shaker Heights'',

Tom Donaghy Tom Donaghy is an American playwright who works in television and film. Biography Tom Donaghy was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Hofstra University for two years before transferring to the New York University Tisch School of ...

’s ''Minutes From The Blue Route'', Edwin Sánchez’ ''Trafficking in Broken Hearts'', and ''Missing Persons'' by

Craig Lucas Craig Lucas (born April 30, 1951) is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director. Biography Born on April 30, 1951, he was found abandoned in a car in Atlanta, Georgia. Lucas was adopted when he was ...

. Atlantic has also had a notable collaboration with the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

playwright Martin McDonagh, having premiered four of his plays in New York: '' Hangmen'' (2018), ''

The Cripple of Inishmaan ''The Cripple of Inishmaan'' is a dark comedy by Martin McDonagh who links the story to the real life filming of the documentary ''Man of Aran''. The play is set on the small Aran Islands community of Inishmaan (Inis Meáin) off the Western C ...

'' (2008), ''

The Lieutenant of Inishmore ''The Lieutenant of Inishmore'' is a black comedy by Martin McDonagh, in which the 'mad' leader of an Irish National Liberation Army splinter group discovers that his cat has been killed. It has been produced twice in the West End and on Bro ...

'' (2006) and ''

The Beauty Queen of Leenane ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' is a 1996 dramatic play by Martin McDonagh which was premiered by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland. It also enjoyed successful runs at London's West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway. It was nominate ...

'' (1998). The latter two transferred to Broadway. Atlantic Stage 2 closeup

Other Mamet productions by Atlantic include his adaptation of

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's ''Three Sisters'', and his own plays ''The Blue Hour'', ''Yes, But So What?'', ''Revenge of the Space Pandas'', ''The Poet and the Rent'', ''Vermont Sketches'', ''Reunion'', ''Sexual Perversity in Chicago'', ''The Duck Variations'', ''The Water Engine'', ''Home'', ''School'', and ''Keep Your Pantheon''. In February 2017, Mamet's play '' The Penitent'' started its previews leading to its premiere at the end of February. In other recent productions, Atlantic has produced '' On the Shore of the Wide World'' by

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

, ''Describe the Night'' by

Rajiv Joseph Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play ''Descri ...

, ''The Homecoming Queen'' by Ngozi Anyanwu, ''The Great Leap'' by Lauren Yee, and ''This Ain't No Disco'' with music and lyrics by

Stephen Trask Stephen Trask (born Stephen R. Schwartz; born August 29, 1966) is an American musician and composer who graduated from Wesleyan University. He was the music director and house band member at the New York City club Squeezebox, where they perform ...

and Peter Yanowitz.

Acting school

The Atlantic Acting School operates as both a private conservatory and an undergraduate program in conjunction with the

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the ar ...

. The school focuses on the Practical Aesthetics, a philosophy and acting technique that grew out of a series of NYU summer workshops in Vermont in 1983 and 1984 with playwright

and actor William H. Macy. It fosters new generations of theater artists by creating a student ensemble that allows actors to hone their craft. Atlantic is committed to preparing its students for all aspects of a performing arts career. A number of theater companies have been formed by former students of Atlantic Acting School, including Pipeline Theatre Company, Bluebird Theatre Company, The Joust Theatre Company, Harvard Sailing Team, Crashbox Theatre Company, Cake Productions, 3rd Kulture Kids, Acorn Pictures, Aggrocrag, Lesser America, Foolish Gentlemen Films, and The Plinth."Alumni Formed Theater Companies"
Atlantic Theater Company. Retrieved December 17, 2018.

References

External links

Atlantic Theater Company website
* *
How the Atlantic Theater Makes a Hit
' {{authority control Performing groups established in 1985 Drama schools in the United States Education in New York City Theatre companies in New York City Non-profit organizations based in New York City Chelsea, Manhattan Off-Broadway theaters 1985 establishments in New York City

Productions

Acting school

See also

References

External links