Powerhouse Theater, a collaboration between New York Stage and Film and Vassar College, now entering its 24th year, 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 twenty different projects are publicly presented, typically engaging more than 200 professional artists and theater students. Plays, musicals, and screenplays are presented in a variety of forms: readings, workshops, and fully staged productions. Additionally, 40 theater students from across the country 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 175,000 audience members through the development and production of artistically exceptional and affordably priced performances.

Season Schedule
Apprentice Program

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 six more of Shanley’s works including The Dreamer Examines His Pillow, Cellini, Doubt (2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), and last season’s Romantic Poetry. 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 Tanya Barfield, Stephen Belber, Tom Donaghy, Christopher Durang, Steve Martin, Eric Overmyer, Theresa Rebeck, and Nicky Silver; directors Jo Bonney, Trip Schulman, Barry Edelstein, Michael Greif, Joe Mantello, Michael Mayer, Roger Rees, Leigh Silverman, Liz Swados, David Warren, and Michael Wilson; and actors Dana Delany, Olympia Dukakis, Edie Falco, Marcia Gay Harden, Mia Farrow, Lucy Liu, Mary McDonnell, Frances McDormand, Rob Morrow, David Strathairn, Jon Tenney and Patricia Wettig among many others.

William A. Plapinger ’74
Catharine B. Hill ex officio; President of Vassar College
John P. Arnhold P’07
Lloyd J. Braun ’80, P’08
James M. Citrin ’81
Sally Dayton Clement ’71, P’09
Lurita Alexis Doan ’79, P’10
Brooke Duncan III ’74
Mary Lloyd Estrin ’66, P’06
Robert J. Friedman ’78
Fay Gambee ’62
Jeffrey A. Goldstein ’77
Sarah Barringer Gordon ’82
Philip N. Jefferson ’83
Henry P. Johnson ’88
Margaret Venecek Johnson ’84
Steven W. Korn ’75
Lisa Kudrow ’85
Geraldine Bond Laybourne ’69
Judith Axenzow Lewittes ’63
Paula Williams Madison ’74
Jean Bronson Mahoney ’52
Margaret Jean McKee ’51
Alice Pack Melly ’56
Mark S. Ordan ’79
Meryl Streep ’71, P’08
Lucy Sun ’74
Steven A. Tananbaum ’87
Monica Vachher ’77
Barbara Manfrey Vogelstein ’76
Nora Ann Wallace ’73
Jill Troy Werner ’71
Christianna Wood ’81