Off-Broadway Stage: Development And Production

Our MainStage has been home to many world, American and New York premieres and has been recognized with awards, nominations and critical acclaim. Plays that premiere on our stage often go on to larger venues, publication and other opportunities. For instance, our world premiere of the musical Langston In Harlem by Walter Marks (music and book) and Kent Gash (book and direction) garnered a Drama Desk Nomination, a Joe A. Calloway award and 4 Audelco awards including Best Musical Production of 2010. Bulrusher (2007) by Eisa Davis was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Unseamly, by Oren Safdie (2015), was an N.Y. Times Critics' Pick. Jim Brochu's Character Man (2014) was nominated for a Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle award for Best Solo Performance, and Honky (2013) by Greg Kalleres saw a regional run at San Diego Rep and was televised nationally on PBS in late 2015. 1996's Men on The Verge Of A Hispanic Breakdown by Guillermo Reyes and Minor Demons by Bruce Graham both moved to commercial theaters. Chili Queen, a play by newscaster Jim Lehrer, transferred to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (1989). My Occasion of Sin (2012) by Monica Bauer won critical acclaim when it moved to Detroit Rep. Bill Bowers has toured regionally and internationally with his two Urban Stages' world premieres blending mime and theatre – Beyond Words (2012) and Under A Montana Moon (2002)! Some Urban Stages premieres have even been developed into film and television projects, such as Scar by Murray Mednick, Conversations with The Goddesses by Agapi Stassinopoulos, and Cotton Mary by Alexandra Viets. More recently, Gratitude (2022) by Oren Safdie, Charmed Life from Soul Singing to Opera Star by Lori Brown Mirabal (2021) and Bars and Measures by Idris Goodwin (2019) attracted critical acclaim.

These notable successes all begin with our Development Program. Urban Stages has an open doors policy when it comes to playwrights. Year-round, writers have the opportunity to submit a full-length play, with no-fees and no need for agents to submit on their behalf. Our literary committee, made up of theater professionals and volunteers, selects 10-15 plays a season for a staged reading. Often, these readings offer playwrights their first development sessions and introduce them to directors, actors and other members of our supportive artistic community. From our staged readings, we select plays for further workshop development and production. Our Emerging Playwright’s Award is awarded to playwrights who successfully complete our development to stage process.

Under Development, Urban Stages New Pages is our growing and evolving development branch that focuses on premiering new short plays and engaging our creative community. Notably, our 2021 Heroes and Villains Monologues series was a virtual hit and won a Bronze Telly Award in Online: Non-Profit.

Also on our MainStage, our annual Winter Rhythms music festival is increasing becoming legendary. For two weeks in December, we champion music artists by shinning the spotlight on famous and up-and-coming musicians, lyricists, and other artists. Every year, over 100 artists take our stage in 20+ unique shows. In 2016, Winter Rhythms was honored with the Bistro Award for Outstanding Series, and in 2015, the festival received the Ruth Kurtzman Benefit Series M.A.C. Award from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs.

Outreach

New York City is home to world-renowned art institutions. However, theaters, museums and general art programming are often concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods in NYC. Furthermore, the price of admission to these institutions limits access for a substantial number of New Yorkers. This means many, especially children, are unable to engage with the benefits of art and theater, including learning to better communicate, increasing problem solving and critical thinking skills, and providing stress-release as well as other mental health benefits. 

Urban Stages’ Outreach Program was launched with this in mind. It is how we best achieve a vital part of our mission of assuring art and theater is available to all.Through Outreach, Urban Stages breaks down common barriers many face that prevent art engagement. This includes price and transportation barriers. For over 30 years, Outreach has toured New York, Brooklyn and Bronx library branches with admission-free plays and art workshops for all ages.

With the addition of virtual programming in 2020, we have reached tens of thousands in recent years. This programming includes historical plays, workshops that unite the arts and the sciences, music programs for children, dance instructions and more. Recently, we’ve added new Juneteenth plays and workshops, programs that offer mental health awareness, literacy programs for adults and professional voice over instruction for teens. 

We are committed to making our Outreach programming as diverse as the city we serve. Currently, we offer Outreach programs in Spanish, Bengali, Mandarin, Korean, ASL, Arabic, Kreyol, French and more.