Theatre Row's Kitchen Sink Residency Program Will Launch In Fall 2019

Theatre Row, a program of Building for the Arts, has long provided a home in the Theater District to nonprofit theaters without a home of their own. To support the next generation of artists, Theatre Row is launching its most ambitious initiative yet: the Kitchen Sink Residency, designed to nurture smaller, emerging performing arts companies.

Theatre Row's Kitchen Sink Residency will offer five diverse companies a two-year commitment of space and support, as well as a sustained artistic home base as they create and present a new, never-before-produced work.

In the 2019-2021 cycle of the Kitchen Sink Residency, companies will be invited to apply based on recommendations by staff and artistic leadership of both Building for the Arts and Theatre Row, as well as by Theatre Row's newly formed Artistic Advisory Committee. Applications will be reviewed by Theatre Row and Building for the Arts leadership, under the direction of Sarah Hughes, Theatre Row's newly appointed Director of Artistic Programming, and Stephanie Rolland, Theatre Row's new Director of Theatre Operations, as well as by the Artistic Advisory Committee, led by Board Member Andy Hamingson. All styles, forms, and genres of live performance will be considered, with the goal of creating a Kitchen Sink cohort that is diverse in as many ways as possible.

In addition to Mr. Hamingson, the members of the Artistic Advisory Committee are:

• Chase Brock, Choreographer and Artistic Director, The Chase Brock Experience
• Rachel Karpf, Artistic Producer, WP Theater
• Nidia Medina, Director of the Studio/Associate Producer, Theatre for a New Audience
• Handan Ozbilgin, Associate Artistic Director, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center
• Drew Petersen, Artistic Director, Trusty Sidekick Theater Company
• Alyssa Simmons, Creative Producer; Assistant General Manager, The Public Theater
• Kit Yan, Playwright, Poet, Musical Theater Writer, and Co-Founder of Trans Lab
• Moe Yousuf, Associate Artistic Director, Target Margin Theater

The Kitchen Sink Residency is unique in its extended development timeline. It is designed to provide consistent support during the artistic process, from first draft to full production, with well-spaced opportunities to show work as it grows. Theatre Row will provide rehearsal time, stipends, and producing and marketing assistance throughout both years of the two-year Residency. Year One culminates in the five-week Kitchen Sink Festival (July-Aug 2020), which will feature each Kitchen Sink company in its own four-performance workshop at Theatre Row. Year Two culminates in a three-week World Premiere production (Spring/Summer 2021) at Theatre Row for each company, resulting in 15 weeks of exciting new works at Theatre Row.

Theatre Row's high-quality, centrally located spaces and its established history as a home for non-profits make it uniquely positioned as an incubator for these artists. In making a comprehensive commitment to support emerging artists by providing a home base in the heart of the Theater District, the Kitchen Sink Residency seeks to make Off-Broadway accessible for the development of dynamic and diverse new works, while also amplifying the voices of under-represented artists so that they can expand their producing capacity and cultivate their audiences.

The inaugural cohort of Kitchen Sink Resident companies will be announced in October 2019. As a biennial program, invitations to apply for the next round of the Kitchen Sink Residency will be released in Summer 2021.

Theatre Row serves as the home for a diverse group of Companies-in-Residence, including The Chase Brock Experience, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Keen Company, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Mint Theater Company, New Light Theater Project, New York City Children's Theater, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Theater Breaking Through Barriers, and United Solo Theatre Festival.

Theatre Row offers theatre and rehearsal studio rentals, office space, ticketing and box office, as well as tech support to actors, producers, dancers, and musicians. Theatre Row encourages its varied mix of nonprofit theatre companies to share ideas and resources as they work in its intimate spaces. Each year, Theatre Row serves 100 companies, 3,000 artists, and over 160,000 patrons.

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