Manhattan Theatre Source to Close in January 2012

Manhattan Theatre Source, the Greenwich Village Theatre space named "one of the top five Off-Off Broadway theaters in New York" by New York Magazine - will close its doors permanently in January 2012, it has been announced by the MTS Board of Directors. "Despite efforts to save it, we have finally reached a point where we can no longer sustain the running of our space at 177 MacDougal Street," stated Board member Doug Silver. "Our deficits have grown too high, and the terrible economy has badly hurt small theater companies in NYC, not only The Source itself, but even more significantly the companies that we depend on to rent our theater all year long. These harsh realities have left us no choice but leave our space."

However, as a producing entity, Manhattan Theatre Source will continue, and explore new opportunities in new venues throughout New York City. Programs, such as, the Source's signature EstroGenius Festival, its annual celebration of female voices; and the Source's Writers' Forum will continue in 2012 and beyond.

Founded in 2000, The Source has given opportunities to almost 10,000 artists -- including actors, directors, designers, musicians, dancers, painters, poets, photographers, and others -- to work in almost 1,000 stage productions. The bulk of these have been new works by emerging artists, some of which have gone on to significant commercial success, most notably BridgeClub Production's [title of show], which had a Broadway run in 2008 and was nominated for a Tony award.

"We are proud that we have created opportunities for hundreds of artists through our annual festivals, "Spontaneous Combustion" weekends, and more," stated Silver. "Mostly, we are proud that, even in the harshest of economic climates, we were able to begin from scratch a little non-profit theatre community in Greenwich Village and have such a long and prosperous run there. We hope to be able to build on that success in the months and years to come as we transition "The Source" into a new era."