Powerhouse Theater

Powerhouse Theater, a collaboration between New York Stage and Film and Vassar College, entering its 29th season in 2013, is dedicated to both emerging and established artists in the development and production of new works for theater and film.

During an intense eight-week summer residency on the Vassar campus, up to 20 different projects are publicly presented, typically engaging more than 250 professional artists and theater students. Plays, musicals, and screenplays are presented in a variety of forms: readings, workshops, and fully staged productions. Additionally, 40-50 theater students from across the country and around the world participate in each summer season and form the Apprentice Company. These young artists are exposed to a wide range of theatrical experiences and are provided with a distinctive opportunity to work on the development of theater productions headed for Broadway and top-ranked theaters nation-wide.

Since the first Powerhouse Theater season in 1985, New York Stage and Film and Vassar have served more than 2,000 artists and over 200,000 audience members through the development and production of artistically exceptional and affordably priced performances.

Season Schedule
Apprentice Program
Production History

The first Powerhouse Theater mainstage season included Savage in Limbo, a new play by the then relatively unknown John Patrick Shanley. Since then, Powerhouse has gone on to premiere thirteen more of Shanley’s works including The Dreamer Examines His Pillow, Cellini, Doubt (2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Romantic Poetry, last season’s Veronica, and this year's Pirate. Among other highly acclaimed new plays that were developed at Powerhouse are the premiere productions of the Tony Award-winning Tru by Jay Presson Allen and Side Man by Warren Leight. Jon Robin Baitz and Beth Henley have also developed some of their most important work with the company: Baitz’s Three Hotels and A Fair Country, and Henley’s Debutante Ball, Revelers, and Family Week. The company has also worked closely with some of today’s most respected writers on their recent plays including David Marshall Grant’s Snakebit, Richard Greenberg’s The Dazzle, Lee Blessing’s Chesapeake, Eve Ensler’s Necessary Targets, and Paul Weitz’s Roulette.

In addition to the above, Powerhouse Theater has supported the early work and subsequent development of writers including Tanya Barfield, Stephen Belber, Eric Bogosian, Tom Donaghy, Christopher Durang, Richard Greenberg, Henry Kreiger, Warren Leight, Steve Martin, Dael Orlandersmith, Eric Overmyer, Theresa Rebeck,  Nicky Silver, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater; directors Jo Bonney, Mark Brokaw, Barry Edelstein, Michael Greif, Joe Mantello, Michael Mayer, Lisa Peterson, Roger Rees, Leight Silverman, Liz Swados, David Warren, and Michael Wilson; and actors Chris Cooper, Dana Delany, Olympia Dukakis, Edie Falco, Mia Farrow, Marcia Gay Harden, Peter Gallagher, Joel Grey, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Johnston, Lucy Liu, Julianna Margulies, Rob Morrow, Mary McDonnell, Frances McDormand, Rob Morrow, Josh Radnor, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kyra Sedgwick, Fisher Stevens, David Strathairn, Meryl Streep, Jon Tenney, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Westfeldt, and Patricia Wettig, among many others.

Lynn Baker
Bryan Bopp
Christian Campilii
Michael DeCordova
Dana Effron
Beth Fargis-Lancaster
Jane Fisher
Joan Gambeski
Maria Hickey
Lydia Higginson
Sarah Johnstone Levine
David Ringwood
Keith Sherman
Shelly M. Sherman
Kelly A. Thompson
Patricia Volkman
Dr. Sheldon Werner

ED CHEETHAM - Producing Director

William A. Plapinger '74 P'10 chair
Catharine B. Hill ex officio; President of Vassar College
John P. Arnhold P'07
Mark Burstein '84
Margarita T. Camacho, M.D. '78
James M. Citrin '81
Sally Dayton Clement '71, P'09
The Honorable Lurita Alexis Doan '79, P'10
Diane Downing '77
Brooke Duncan III '74
Mary Lloyd Estrin '66, P'01, P'06
Linda A. Fairstein '69
Brent Feigenbaum '82
Robert J. Friedman '78
Anthony J. Friscia '78
Maryellen Cattani Herringer '65
Philip N. Jefferson '83
Henry P. Johnson '88
Steven W. Korn '75
Lisa Kudrow '85
Geraldine Bond Laybourne '69, P'93
Judith Axenzow Lewittes '63
Paula Williams Madison '74
Alice Pack Melly '56
Meryl Streep '71, P'08, P'13
Lucy Sun '74
Steven A. Tananbaum '87
Robert K. Tanenbaum P'12
Barbara Manfrey Vogelstein '76
Nora Ann Wallace '73
Jill Troy Werner '71
Christianna Wood '81
Pamela Mars Wright '82