Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ensemble Studio Theatre, or “EST,” is a Hell’s Kitchen-based theater company founded in 1968 that is committed to showcasing new voices in American theater and nurturing emerging artists in all disciplines of the field. In addition to a few full scale productions each year, EST generates new work through a variety of programs, amounting to an annual output of over 150 productions, workshops, readings, marathons, and festivals at its 52nd Street home, which consists of two small theaters and a rough-and-tumble vibe.
EST’s best-known program is Youngblood, a collective of a dozen-or-so playwrights under the age of 30 that presents new work at every stage of development, from readings to full productions. Don’t think of Youngblood as a band of unknown kid playwrights – almost all for them are serious new voices that you should savor now before more expensive theaters snap them all up. Notable recent Youngblood hits include Hand to God (returning to the stage at MCC Theater in 2014) and Year of the Rooster (which we adored this past fall and will return to EST in February 2014). Youngblood has a number of impressive alumni, including popular playwrights Lucy Alibar, Rob Askins, Annie Baker, Amy Herzog, Qui Nguyen, and Lucy Thurber.
Other EST programs include the Sloan Project, which uses grant money from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to produce new plays focused on science and technology, a Marathon of One-Act Plays by both famous and emerging writers, and Going to the River, which provides a forum for female African-American playwrights. EST draws from its vast pool of talent from all disciplines, including a resident ensemble of over 500 actors, to fuel this nonstop programming.
If you’re looking for new work from both the city’s most cherished and most promising artists, young and old, EST is one of the few places in New York that has all this – and more – under one roof.
LOCATION
Ensemble Studio Theatre
549 W 52nd Street
New York City
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CURRENT SEASON
Asking for Trouble
Unfiltered Festival
EST/Sloan First Light 2014
SUBSCRIPTION/MEMBERSHIP
None
THEATER DETAILS
The Curt Dempster Theatre (74 seats)
Studio Theatre (60 seats)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE & PHONE NUMBER
Box Office: 212-247-4982
PRODUCTION HISTORY
(partial list)
Isaac’s Eye
FINKS
Headstrong
Hand to God
White People
Lenin’s Embalmers
Princes of Waco