Perry Street Theatre, the Lamb's Theatre, Playhouse 91, Variety Arts Theatre, the Promenade Theatre are gone or will be gone soon, but Atlantic Stage 2 is brand new, and opening for business with a festival of 20 one-act plays (each running 10 minutes) through July 1.
The new 99-seat theatre will be home of two new works per season to be produced by Atlantic Theater Company. It will also be the home stage for the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School. It replaces another ATC second space that offered new works at 453 W. 16th Street.
Atlantic Stage 2 is located at 330 West 16th Street at Eighth Avenue.
An outdoor grand opening ceremony begins at 10 AM June 14 with remarks from Atlantic artistic director Neil Pepe, managing director Andrew D. Hamingson, Atlantic founding member and Atlantic acting school executive director Mary McCann, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Taconic Investment Partners, Paul E. Pariser and actress Kathryn Erbe, among other civic officials and celebrities to be announced.
Following the ribbon cutting, guests will be invited to tour the new facility. In January 2006, Atlantic entered its third decade with a move of the Atlantic Acting School and administrative offices to the Port Authority Building at 111 Eighth Avenue following a $4 million renovation. (The theatre is off 16th Street, separate from the administrative entrance.)
In addition to Atlantic Stage 2, the new headquarters, encompassing 25,000 square feet, houses a lobby with gallery, box office, scenic shop, dressing rooms, nine rehearsal and classroom studios serving 250 students, student/faculty lounges and Atlantic's administrative and artistic staff offices.
Atlantic Stage 2 Facts
"Ten By Twenty" is a one-act festival of 20 10-minute plays commissioned by notable playwrights whose work has been produced at Atlantic over the past two decades including David Mamet, Craig Lucas and David Rabe. It premieres June 14 runs through July 1.
"Ten By Twenty" will reunite many of Atlantic's ensemble of actors and directors to inaugurate the new theatre. Expect Ted Danson, Kristen Johnston and Jan Maxwell, among many others.
Tickets to "Ten By Twenty" are $25 per evening and available through Telecharge by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting Telecharge.com.
Officially founded in 1985, Atlantic Theater Company has since presented over 100 productions in the last 20 years and remains committed to their mission of "producing great plays simply and truthfully while utilizing a resident artistic ensemble."
The Atlantic Acting School, a private conservatory and undergraduate program in conjunction with New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, was founded by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Mamet and celebrated actor William H. Macy when they taught "Practical Aesthetics," their unique acting technique, to a group of NYU students from 1983 to 1985.
Upon graduation from the program, Mamet and Macy turned the name, Atlantic Theater Company, and its not-for-profit status over to this group encouraging them to "create your own work."
Atlantic has produced the Tony Award-winning The Beauty Queen Of Leenane, the world premieres of Woody Allen's A Second Hand Memory and Writer's Block, last season's world premiere of David Mamet's Romance, Jez Butterworth's Mojo, Tom Donaghy's Minutes From The Blue Route the American premieres of Blue/Orange, Dublin Carol and The Night Heron, the New York premieres of The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and The Cider House Rules, the revivals of American Buffalo, Edmond, The Hothouse and Hobson's Choice.
Atlantic is currently presenting the world premiere of the musical Spring Awakening, directed by Michael Mayer and featuring music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, which will officially open Off-Broadway on June 15 at the Atlantic Main Stage 336 West 20th Street.
This season Atlantic was awarded the 2006 Lucille Lortel Prize for Outstanding Body of Work.
For more information, visit www.atlantictheater.org.
