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Theatre for a New Audience
Annual Report for the 2009-2010 Season
Theatre for a New Audience
154 Christopher Street, Suite 3D
New York, NY 10014
(212) 229-2819 phone
(212) 229-2911 fax
www.tfana.org
Founded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, Theatre for a New Audience is dedicated to develop and
vitalize the performance and study of Shakespeare and classic drama. In its 30-yeare history, the
Theatre has built an international reputation for artistic excellence.
Values and Strategies: The Theatre is guided in its work by five core values: a reverence for
language, a spirit of adventure, a commitment to diversity, a dedication to learning, and a spirit
of service. These values inform the Theatre’s work with artists, how it interacts with audiences,
and how the Theatre manages its organization.
Each season, to advance its mission and values, Theatre for a New Audience:

produces Shakespeare side by side with other plays of classic stature and major
contemporary plays, creating a dialogue over centuries between Shakespeare and other
authors about our contemporary world;

builds long-term associations with artists and offers programs for their growth and
ongoing development;

promotes the humanities by presenting dynamic discussions with leading intellects in a
variety of fields in conjunction to the plays we present;

plays for wide-ranging audiences—from connoisseurs of diverse repertory to young
people who are seeing groundbreaking productions for the first time;

promotes access for diverse audiences by offering economically priced tickets;

provides rich arts-in-education programs, including teacher training and the largest artsin-education program in New York City to introduce Shakespeare to Public School
students;

uses its facilities and intellectual resources to serve the local artistic, educational and
social communities where the Theatre operates, and contributes to the international
theatre community through touring, artistic exchanges and partnerships.
Season Programming: The 2009-2010 season marked the Theatre’s 30th season, a significant
year in which the Theatre strengthened its relationship with two leading theatre artists, developed
new artistic partnerships, continued the development of a rising young director and advanced on
its plans for its first home, which will be located in the BAM Cultural District in Downtown
Brooklyn.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet #147 begins, ―My love is as a fever…‖ For its 30th Anniversary Season,
Theatre for a New Audience presented three plays in which love, lust and longing distract and
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consume. The season began with the New York premiere of Rinde Eckert’s Orpheus X, directed
by preeminent American director Robert Woodruff, continued with Shakespeare’s Measure for
Measure, directed by rising theatre director Arin Arbus, and concluded with the New York
premiere of Love Is My Sin, directed and adapted from Shakespeare’s sonnets by the legendary
Peter Brook. Capping the glowing notices and full houses for all of our productions was the
nomination of Measure for Measure for a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Revival. The Theatre’s
acclaimed 2009-2010 productions were attended by a diverse audience of 14,156 patrons from
across the region.
In addition to its theatrical productions, Theatre for a New Audience continues to provide the
largest program to introduce Shakespeare and classic drama in New York City Public Schools.
This year, the World Theatre Project, which brings Shakespeare to 5th–8th grade classrooms,
served 1,080 students who studied and attended five student matinees of the Theatre’s production
of Measure for Measure. As a follow-up to their study and attendance at the play, students
learned the basics of theatre production and wrote their own scenes based on the play, which
were performed at a Culminating Event attended by fellow students, parents and teachers. The
New Voices residencies, our playwriting program for high schools, served 320 students
(representing a nearly 30% increase over 2008-2009) who wrote their own plays based on the
themes they developed through class discussions. The plays were then workshopped with
students by professional actors. In the Young Voices residencies, the New Voices program
adapted for elementary and middle school grades, 360 students (a 9% increase over 2008-2009)
also wrote their own plays, which were workshopped with professional actors who performed
them at the conclusion of the residencies. In total, the Theatre served 1,760 students and 49
classroom teachers from 60 classes in 14 schools citywide.
Since 2005, TFANA has been contracted by the NYC Department of Education to provide the
theatre curriculum for the DOE’s Summer Arts Institute this summer. In the program, a
TFANA Teaching Artist leads a select group of students, grades 8-12, in researching, studying
and performing scenes from classic plays over a five-week period. This year the works that
students focused on included Uncle Vanya, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Les Liaisons Dangereuses,
The Heidi Chronicles, Our Country’s Good, House of Blue Leaves, As You Like It, The Rimers of
Eldritch and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
As part of its efforts to reach a broad and diverse audience, the Theatre offers the lowest-price
reserved ticket for youth in the City and participates in the City University of New York
(CUNY) Culture Passport Program. In 2009–10, a total of 4,757 discounted tickets were offered
for Theatre for a New Audience productions, including 2,208 Theater Development Fund (TDF)
tickets at $23, and 997 through our New Deal $10 Ticket Program for theatregoers 25 years old
or younger. Approximately 86% of the Theatre’s tickets were sold at a discount through the
Theatre’s outreach and marketing initiatives and through other discount outlets such as TDF. The
Theatre also offered eight TFANA Talks post-performance discussions that were free and open
to the general public throughout the 2009–2010 season in conjunction with performances of
Orpheus X, Measure for Measure and Love Is My Sin. The panels featured artists, scholars and
writers from the fields of education and journalism as well as TFANA artists.
Capital Campaign Update: Theatre for a New Audience is actively engaged in a Capital
Campaign to build its first home in the BAM Cultural District in Downtown Brooklyn.
Designed by celebrated architect Hugh Hardy, the Theatre’s future home is inspired by the
3
Cottesloe Theatre of Britain's Royal National Theatre and will include a multi-level lobby, a
fully flexible 299-seat Mainstage capable of different stage and seating configurations and a
rehearsal/performance space that will accommodate 50. The new building will enable the
Theatre to grow and strengthen its program offerings to audiences, artists, families and school
children.
Groundbreaking for this landmark theatre is planned for February 2011. The total cost of the
project, including a $10 million program and building endowment, is $56.5 million. Thanks to
support from generous donors and The City of New York, $47.3 million has been raised, and the
project is on track and on budget to provide New York and the region with a state-of-the-art
theatre dedicated to Shakespeare.
The following is an overview of Theatre for a New Audience’s income and expenses for the
fiscal year ended August 31, 2010.
Total Support and Revenue
Program Expenses
Management & General Expenses
Fundraising Expenses
Special Event – indirect expenses
End of Year Net Asset Balance
$3,023,997
$2,367,680
$323,598
$294,897
$57,541
$310,308
Theatre for a New Audience is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are taxdeductible to the extent allowed by law.
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Board of Directors
Chairman
Theodore C. Rogers
President
Jeffrey Horowitz
Vice Presidents
Merle Debuskey
Seymour H. Lesser
Audrey Heffernan Meyer
Janet C. Olshansky
Secretary
Gloria Messinger
Treasurer
Michelene Spencer
Artistic Council
Merle Debuskey
John Berendt
Cicely Berry
Zoë Caldwell
Robert Caro
Sir Peter Hall
Dana Ivey
David Scott Kastan
Catherine Maciariello
Robert MacNeil
Mark Rylance
Douglas Stein
Julie Taymor
Frederick Wiseman
Members
Joan Arnow
Robert Arnow
Robert Ascheim, MD
Marlène Brody
Sally Brody
Walter M. Cain
Henry Christensen III
Sharon Dunn
Charlotte Frank
Richard A. Hadar
John J. Kerr
William F. Lloyd
Larry M. Loeb
Anne Messitte
Henry F. Owsley
Philip R. Rotner
Robert T. Schaffner
Daryl D. Smith
Michael Stranahan
Monica G.-S. Wambold
Jane Wells
Dorothy Ryan, Managing Director
Ex-officio
Theatre for a New Audience is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are taxdeductible to the extent allowed by law.