Vineyard Playhouse

Last updated

The Vineyard Playhouse is a professional, non-profit working theater company on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Housed in a historic building in downtown Vineyard Haven, MA, the theater produces shows year-round. [1] It also hosts programs for children, [2] and was described in the Vineyard Gazette as "the longest running professional theatre on the Island." [3]

Contents

History

The Playhouse was established in 1982 by Eileen Wilson and Isabella Blake, according to the Playhouse's website, [4] and the theatre company celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2007.

Repertoire

The repertoire ranges from summer shows featuring Broadway-quality actors as well as talented locals, to less posh but also impressive off-season shows, usually featuring local professional actors and members of the community. Traditionally the Christmas production is a family-oriented show that includes a large number of children. Most shows during the summer season are intended for adult audiences, but other shows are family-appropriate, and include roles for all ages. Some previous shows include The Snow Queen, The Homecoming, The Rimers of Eldridge, Romeo and Juliet, and Proof. [5]

Relationship With and Contributions to the Vineyard Community

MJ Bruder Munafo, the Playhouse's Artistic Director, has a reputation for supporting local artists and writers. The Playhouse often hosts readings of new works in progress, or stages pieces that show artistic merit. [6]

Related Research Articles

Great Lakes Theater Professional classic theater company in Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Great Lakes Theater, originally known as the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, is a professional classic theater company in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1962, Great Lakes is the second-largest regional theater in Northeast Ohio. It specializes in large-cast classic plays with a strong foundation in the works of Shakespeare and features an educational outreach program. The company performs its main stage productions in rotating repertory at the Hanna Theatre in Playhouse Square, which reopened on September 20, 2008. The organization shares a resident company of artists with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. On its main stage and through its education programs, GLT connects approximately 85,000 adults and students to the classics each season.

Nottingham Playhouse

Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop. The current building opened in 1963.

Intiman Theatre Festival in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 1972 as a resident theatre by Margaret "Megs" Booker, who named it for August Strindberg's Stockholm theater. With a self-declared focus on "a resident acting ensemble, fidelity to the playwright's intentions and a close relationship between actor and audience", the Intiman soon called itself as "Seattle's classic theater". Its debut season in 1972 included Rosmersholm, The Creditors, The Underpants, and Brecht on Brecht. The theater has been host to Tony-nominated Director Bartlett Sher, Tony-nominated actress Celia Keenan-Bolger, and movie actor Tom Skerritt. It was also home to the world premieres of the Tony-winning Broadway musical The Light in the Piazza, Craig Lucas's Singing Forest and Dan Savage's "Miracle!". Lucas also served as the Associate Artistic Director. Intiman won the 2006 Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Thousand Islands Playhouse

The Thousand Islands Playhouse is a summer theatre company located in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada.

Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Paper Mill was officially designated as the "State Theater of New Jersey". From 1971 to 2008, Paper Mill held the New Jersey Ballet as its resident ballet company, with the annual production of Nutcracker until the premiere 25th Anniversary tour of Les Misérables took up the ballet's performance slot. Mark S. Hoebee serves as the producing artistic director, and is often credited as saving the Paper Mill during the financial crisis in 2008. In 2016, the playhouse received the Regional Theatre Tony Award.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is an American professional ballet company based in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Pacific Repertory Theatre

The Pacific Repertory Theatre is a non-profit California corporation, based in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, that produces theatrical productions and events, including the annual Carmel Shakespeare Festival. It is one of eight major arts institutions in Monterey County, as designated by the Community Foundation of Monterey County, and is supported in part by grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the Berkshire Foundation and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation.

The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival at the University of Notre Dame is an annual festival that seeks to combine professional productions of the works of William Shakespeare with community outreach and educational programs. The Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival is a part of the University of Notre Dame's Shakespeare initiative entitled "Shakespeare at Notre Dame", a program that recognizes the centrality of the study of Shakespeare in humanistic pedagogy at the University. Its fifteenth season was known as the 15/150, also celebrating the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare, and the 150th anniversary of the first full production of Shakespeare at the university in 1864. The anniversary season consisted of the Professional Company production of Henry IV, the Young Company performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor, and the annual ShakeScenes shows featuring actors of all ages from South Bend and the surrounding community.

Theatre Rhinoceros or Theatre Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre based in San Francisco. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet and his partner Allan B. Estes, Jr.. It is a non-profit theater company dedicated to the production of plays by and about gay and lesbian people.

As the new medium of cinema was beginning to replace theatre as a source of large-scale spectacle, the Little Theatre Movement developed in the United States around 1912. The Little Theatre Movement served to provide experimental centers for the dramatic arts, free from the standard production mechanisms used in prominent commercial theatres. In several large cities, beginning with Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and Detroit, companies formed to produce more intimate, non-commercial, non-profit-centered, and reform-minded entertainments.

Portland Stage is a professional LORT theater company in the state of Maine. Founded as the Profile Theatre in 1974 as a touring theater company, in 1976 the company made Portland a permanent home and in 1982 it moved to its current home of 25A Forest Ave Portland, ME. Anita Stewart has served as the Artistic Director since 1996 and in 2006 was made Executive Director as well.

Downstage Theatre Former theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand

Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Mervyn Thompson, and Colin McColl.

Cape May Stage

The Cape May Stage is a theatre company that performs in the Robert Shackleton Playhouse located at the corner of Bank and Lafayette Streets in downtown Cape May, New Jersey, United States.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of the largest professional Shakespeare companies in North America, serving over 100,000 adults and children annually. Located in Madison, New Jersey, it is the state's largest theatre company dedicated to the works of Shakespeare and other classic masterworks, including rarely produced epics not often produced by other theatres.

Wendy C. Goldberg is an American theatre director and the current Artistic Director of the National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Under Goldberg's tenure, The O'Neill was awarded the 2010 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the first play development and education organization to receive this honor. Goldberg is the first woman to run the Playwrights Conference and was named Artistic Director when she was just 31 years old.

Derby Playhouse was a theatre production company based in Derby, England and the former name of the theatre which it owned and operated from its opening in 1975 until 2008, when the company ceased operating after a period in administration. The theatre was subsequently reopened in 2009 as the Derby Theatre and is now owned and operated by the University of Derby. During its tenure at the theatre, the Derby Playhouse company gained a national reputation for its productions, particularly the works of Stephen Sondheim. It also premiered new theatrical works as well as giving the regional premieres of several others.

Shakespeare in the Park festivals Outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeares plays

Shakespeare in the Park is a term for outdoor festivals featuring productions of William Shakespeare's plays. The term originated with the New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City's Central Park, originally created by Joseph Papp. This concept has been adapted by many theatre companies, and over time, this name has expanded to encompass outdoor theatre productions of the playwright's works performed all over the world.

Pittsburgh Playhouse

Pittsburgh Playhouse is Point Park University's performing arts center located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It houses three performance spaces and is home to The Rep, Point Park's resident professional theatre company, as well as three student companies—Conservatory Theatre Company, Conservatory Dance Company, and Playhouse Jr. The Conservatory Theatre Company offers five productions each year that are performed by undergraduate students at Point Park; each season consists of a mixture of established plays and musicals, as well as occasional new works.

Theatre in Pittsburgh

Theatre in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past several decades.

Playhouse on the Square Regional theatre company in Memphis, Tennessee

Playhouse on the Square is a regional theatre company located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is owned by Circuit Playhouse, Inc., which operates two other Memphis theaters. While it has its own resident company of professional actors, auditions are still frequently open to the public. The theater has 347 seats on two levels, an orchestra and balcony with boxes, as well as a rooftop terrace, which is open during shows and rented out for private events.

References

  1. NY Times: Frommers review
  2. Fodor's entry on the Vineyard Playhouse
  3. "Vineyard Gazette article on 25th anniversary". Archived from the original on 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  4. Vineyard Playhouse website, History page
  5. "Vineyard Playouse production history. Accessed February 22, 2008". Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  6. MV Gazette: Short Works at the Playhouse

Coordinates: 41°27′19.7″N70°36′14.4″W / 41.455472°N 70.604000°W / 41.455472; -70.604000