PlayMakers Repertory Company

Chapel Hill, NC

Started in 1976, PlayMakers Repertory Company is a professional non-profit theater affiliated with the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Twice honored by The Drama League of New York and once by American Theatre magazine as one of the best regional theaters in the country, PlayMakers utilizes a team of resident company members, guest artists, professional staff, and graduate students enrolled in the master of fine arts acting, technical, and costume production programs to create its work. From September to May, PlayMakers produces six mainstage shows spanning a broad repertoire of classical and contemporary work. Outreach and education are important components in PlayMakers programming: the educational student matinee program, in its 25th year, offers matinees of mainstage productions to elementary-, middle-, and high-school students for $7.50 per ticket, with no charge for teachers and chaperones. With an eye to better serving the increasingly diverse community in which it resides, PlayMakers recently created a second-stage series, called PRC 2, which explores challenging and timely social and political issues. Each performance in this series is followed by an in-depth discussion with the audience led by a panel of scholars and artists. PlayMakers productions are seen by approximately 42,000 audience members over the course of the season. PlayMakers is based in the Center for Dramatic Art, a facility that houses the Paul Green Theatre; the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre; a rehearsal hall; set, costume, and prop shops; and classrooms and offices for the use of PlayMakers and the Department of Dramatic Art.

PlayMakers Repertory Company has a rich history of producing plays by Shakespeare. In its 32 years of creating professional theater, the company has produced 26 of Shakespeare's plays. For the 2008–2009 season, PlayMakers has chosen to present Pericles, the first of Shakespeare's late romances and wildly popular in its own time. Producing Artistic Director Joseph Haj will direct the play, and Jack Herrick of the nationally celebrated The Red Clay Ramblers (Broadway's Lie of the Mind) will create an original score. The award-winning design team will consist of Mr. Haj's long-term collaborators: scenic designer Jan Chambers, costume designer McKay Coble, and lighting designer Justin Townsend. In 2008, the company is celebrating the 25 th year of its premier educational program, the educational student matinee series. Since its inception, this program has served more than 90,000 local middle- and high-school students. For many years, the company has recognized a very significant need to deepen this program by both expanding the range of activities offered and by reaching schools that simply do not have access to high-quality performing arts. Funding from Shakespeare for a New Generation will enable PlayMakers Repertory Company to achieve both goals. Specifically, this year, the company will broaden the range of activities offered around the educational matinees, including transportation and ticket subsidies for underserved schools, a teaching artist to visit all schools, a weekend seminar for teachers, and the administrative support to mange the expanded program. With this expanded programming, PlayMakers plans to work with 13 schools in the greater Triangle Area, including schools from Wake, Durham, and Chatham counties.

Visit them at: www.playmakersrep.org