WP Theater Launches 'The Space Program,' Offering Discounted Off-Broadway Space to Mission-Aligned Artists

The Obie, Lortel and Drama Desk Award-winning WP Theater is launching "The Space Program," a new initiative offering discounted space at their home at 76th & Broadway - to provide affordable producing options to mission-aligned individual artists and small budget not-for-profit companies, who might otherwise not be able to produce because of the financial constraints of renting performance spaces. Spaces are available as early as January 2023, and discounted rates include access to WP's lighting and sound equipment package, all utilities, cleaning, and marketing and front of house consultations.

Is your production WP mission-aligned; written & directed by Women+ artists, and the rest of the team assembled with a focus on gender equity? Does the composition of your cast and creative team demonstrate a commitment to racial equity? If your production meets these criteria, email thespaceprogram@wptheater.org for more information. The dates currently available for Space Program residencies within the 2022-23 season (which can range anywhere from 1 week to 8 weeks) are: January 9-February 5, 2023, and May 1-June 25, 2023.

WP Theater (Lisa McNulty, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Sag, Managing Director), now in its 45th Season, is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of Women+ at every stage of their careers. For over four decades, WP has served as leaders of a global movement towards gender parity - and the artists fostered have grown into a robust, thriving community in theater and beyond. WP empowers Women+ artists of all kinds to reach their full potential, challenging preconceptions about the kinds of plays they write and the stories they tell.

Founded in 1978 by Julia Miles as Women's Project Theater, WP Theater has earned acclaim as a home for Women+ theatermakers, historically marginalized in the field, to hone their craft while becoming leaders, change-makers, and advocates in the industry. To date, the company has produced more than 600 Mainstage productions and developmental projects and published 11 anthologies of plays by Women+ artists, and continues to forge forward in making a difference in the artistic landscape of New York and beyond, by offering these artists a platform to develop and present their stories.

Today, WP accomplishes its mission through several fundamental programs, including: the WP Lab, a celebrated two-year mentorship and new play development program for Women+ playwrights, directors, and producers; the Domestic Partner residency program; the Developmental series of workshops and readings; the Commissioning program, and the Mainstage series, which features a full season of Off-Broadway productions written and directed by extraordinary theater artists. Current artists under commission are: Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Emily Kaczmarek, MJ Kaufman, Sylvia Khoury, Zoe Sarnak, and Leah Nanako Winkler.

WP Theater received a Lucille Lortel Award and an Obie Award, both for Outstanding Body of Work; and a 2020 Special Drama Desk Award recognizing WP and its founder, Julia Miles. As the premier launching pad for some of the most influential artists in theater, television, and film, WP's work has a significant impact on the field. Nearly every notable female theater artist has been through its doors, including: 2019 Tony Winner Rachel Chavkin; two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner Lynn Nottage, 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner Martyna Majok; MacArthur "Genius" Grant Winner & Tony Award Nominee Dominique Morisseau; Tony Winner Pam MacKinnon; and Tony Winner Diane Paulus. At WP, these powerful women found an early artistic home and are a testament to the organization's role as a driving cultural force.

*When we say Women+, we mean people who are cis women, trans, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming people, and all gender identities which have been systematically oppressed throughout history in the theater and beyond.

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