Signature Theatre Receives Grant from Mellon Foundation

Signature Theatre announced today that The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Signature Theatre $2 million in support of the Company's Legacy Program and for the creation of a reserve fund as part of Signature's capital campaign for Signature Center, the Company's new, permanent home, which will open in late January 2012. Spanning an entire city block at 42nd Street between Dyer and 10th Avenue, the Frank Gehry-designed Signature Center will feature three intimate theatres, a Studio Theatre, rehearsal studio, and a public café and bookstore. Serving as both a theatre community hub and a neighborhood destination, Signature Center has been designed to foster interaction among playwrights, artistic collaborators, and the public.

$1.5 million of the $2 million gift will provide critical seed support for Signature's reserve fund, created in preparation for the expansion of the Company's programming as it moves to its new home. The remaining $500,000 will support Signature's Legacy Program over the next three years, including Signature's upcoming production of The Lady from Dubuque by Edward Albee.

The Mellon Foundation has been a critical supporter of Signature for much of the Company's history, with transformative grants including a $1.2 million gift in 2005 to support capacity building for the Company's expansion to a new home and a three-year, $1.25 million grant in 2009 in support of the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative, the 2008-2009 Negro Ensemble Company Season, and lead support for the recent production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.

Signature Theatre is distinguished for its pioneering programs that celebrate a playwright's body of work. Signature Center will enable the 20-year old Company to expand its programming, introduce new initiatives, and build audiences. The Company will present up to nine plays each season at the Center, which will serve as the artistic home for as many as 11 playwrights at any one time, allowing Signature to expand its commitment to playwrights and foster a creative community that brings together audiences and theatre artists.

"The Mellon Foundation's extraordinary long-term support of Signature has had a tremendous impact in laying the foundation for us to reach our full potential as a Company and to prepare us for our new home," noted Signature's Founding Artistic Director James Houghton. "We're grateful to Mellon for their support, and their prescient philanthropic vision, which helps Signature to serve many more playwrights and audiences than ever before."