The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York has announced that Tony winner Billy Porter will host the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new A.R.T/New York Theatres: two state-of-the-art performances spaces located at 502 West 53rd Street. The ceremony is scheduled for January 18, 2017.
As previously announced, the 21 nonprofit companies that will occupy the space for its inaugural 2017-18 season will be Amas Musical Theatre, Broken Box Mime Theater, Buran Theatre, The Civilians, Dramatic Question Theatre, Houses on the Moon Theater Company, Ma-Yi Theater Company, The Movement Theatre Company, NAATCO, New Georges, New York City Children's Theater, New York Neo-Futurists, One Year Lease Theater Company, Pioneers Go East Collective, Pipeline Theatre Company, The Play Company, Project Y Theatre Company, Prospect Theater Company, Target Margin Theater, Theater Breaking Through Barriers, and Transport Group Theatre Company.
The theatres, designed by Toshiko Mori, have been built to provide affordable performance space to New York City’s smaller-budget nonprofit theatres. Seating capacity is up to 87 seats in the Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre and up to 149 seats in the Mezzanine Theatre.
Following a 2012 study that showed theatre companies spend over 50 percent of their budgets on performance space and labor alone, A.R.T./New York has committed to subsidizing the rental rates for the selected companies to allow for more money to go towards creative development. The new spaces are made possible through A.R.T/New York’s 25-year Rental Subsidy Fund.
