The Actors Company Theatre

The Actors Company Theatre (TACT) is an Off-Broadway theatre company that was founded in 1992 by a group of New York stage veterans. For their first several years, TACT produced a number of concert performances, a cross between a staged reading and a full production. In 2006, TACT began a residency at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row to produce two full plays a year. TACT focuses on reviving lesser-known productions that have not been performed in New York for several years. Their mission statement, according to their website, is "to present neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit, with a focus on creating theatre from its essence: the text and the actor's ability to bring it to life."^[1]

Mission

TACT is dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit, with a focus on creating theatre from its essence: the text and the actor's ability to bring it to life.

History

For thirteen seasons, TACT made its reputation with its Concert Performance productions: fully rehearsed presentation stripped down to their essence. With simple staging, costuming, and lighting, they refocus the emphasis of the drama away from spectacle and production and back to the words and the actor - creating theatre in its purest form. Their style grew out of our belief that this is where the true magic of theatre lies: in the special connection between the artist, the work of art, and the fully engaged audience.

In the 2006/07 season, TACT took a bold step forward. Following their critically acclaimed full productions of Long Island Sound by Noël Coward (May 2002, world premiere) and The Triangle Factory Fire Project by Christopher Piehler and Scott Alan Evans (May 2004, world premiere), TACT presented a season of two full productions at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row on 42nd Street, becoming one of their resident companies. While maintaining their aesthetic of creating theatre which focuses on the text and the actor's craft, these productions, with their extended performance schedules, garnered exceptional critical and audience praise.

For their Sixteenth Season, TACT followed the trajectory begun in 2006 and presented two more critically acclaimed productions in their Mainstage at Theatre Row. They celebrated the success of the year with their Sweet 16 Gala at the Hudson Theatre honoring the legendary Angela Lansbury.

In addition to their Mainstage offerings, TACT is continuing its Concert Performance readings in the TACT Salon Series, presented in our intimate studio space at 900 Broadway (see Salon Series) as well as continuing newTACTics (see newTACTics).

For all their productions they commission original incidental musical scores through their on-going creative partnership with The Manhattan School of Music. The music, often performed live, heightens and enhances the theatricality of the evening and is an invaluable component of the "TACT Experience."

Current Productions

The current 2013/2014 Mainstage season includes Natural Affection by William Inge and Beyond Therapy by Christopher Durang. The current 2013/2014 Salon Series will focus on remarkable women playwrights. Plays include A Very Rich Woman by Ruth Gordon, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, Toys in the Attic by Lillian Hellman, and The Hollow by Agatha Christie.

Past Productions

TACT has received notably positive reviews, particularly from the New York Times for its productions of Home^[2] and Eccentricities of a Nightingale.^[3]

Notable Productions:

• Home – David Storey
• The Sea – Edward Bond
• The Runner Stumbles – Milan Stitt
• Eccentricities of a Nightingale – Tennessee Williams
• Bedroom Farce – Alan Ayckbourn
• Incident At Vichy – Arthur Miller

Salon Series

Truly the cornerstone of TACT's programming, the Salon Series is an essential part of serving its mission of creating theatre from its essence: the text and the actor's ability to bring it to life. This series of rehearsed, staged readings takes place at the TACT studio at 900 Broadway beginning in November and features live music by composers commissioned through its partnership with the Manhattan School of Music. Highly popular with subscribers, the Salon Series allows TACT to investigate lost works of dramatic literature without constraints of cast size, sets, technical demands, or "impossible" production elements.

newTACTics

newTACTics is a new program initiative dedicated to discovering, developing, and exploring new works for the theatre. newTACTics seeks to encourage new playwrights as well as experienced, produced writers to continue to write for the theatre and to discover new ways to use the extraordinary language of the theatre to tell their stories. The program is not only dedicated to finding new plays that fit within the TACT aesthetic – theatrical works that focus on the text and the actor’s craft – but also plays from the past that have yet to be performed. newTACTics is interested not only in completed plays but also in works in progress, hoping to bring them to completion through the review, development, staged reading process.

Awards and Nominations

In 2012, TACT was named Company of the Year by the Wall Street Journal saying "...Smart programming, superlative productions, a track record of consistent excellence: TACT is what off-Broadway ought to be." In addition, their production of Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon brought TACT their first Drama Desk Award nomination, being nominated for Outstanding Revival of a Play. A list of reviews for TACT's other productions can be found on their website.

Members

TACT's co-artistic directors are founding members Scott Alan Evans and actor Cynthia Harris, along with Jenn Thompson.

Company members include:

• Cynthia Darlow – Actor
• James Murtaugh – Actor
• Joseph Trapanese – Composer

References

1. ↑ TACT – The Actors Company Theatre
2. ↑ Alighting in the Confines of a Lonely Cuckoo's Nest by Neil Genzlinger, nytimes.com, Published: December 8, 2006
3. ↑ A Heroine’s Inner Flame, Fueled by an Excess of Feeling by Rachel Saltz, nytimes.com, Published: May 9, 2008

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Actors Company Theatre.

• TACT Official Website

Coordinates: 40°45′30.79″N 73°59′36.14″W / 40.7585528°N 73.9933722°W / 40.7585528; -73.9933722