History

Since its founding in 1963, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring the last long standing permanent resident acting company in America, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works for an estimated annual audience of nearly 160,000. In its 44-year history, the theater has produced 54 world premieres, mounted national and international tours, and, through its graduate-level theater arts conservatory, trained hundreds of new actors and directors. This season marks the 42nd year of Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's pioneering educational outreach program. Launched in 1966, the program introduces over 20,000 Rhode Island and Massachusetts students a year to live theater. The Brown University/Trinity Rep Consortium offers professional training for actors and directors in a three-year MFA program. Since 1973, Trinity Rep's home has been the Lederer Theater Center, a historic landmark built as the Majestic Theatre in 1917. With an annual budget of $8.1 million, the theater employs 120 artistic and administrative staff and annually generates more than $24 million in economic activity.

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Local, national, and international recognition has come to Trinity Rep consistently. In 1968, it was the first American theater company to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. The company received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater Company in 1981, produced four television productions for PBS, and toured to India and Syria. Trinity Rep has a strong commitment to the development of new works and has presented nearly 50 world premieres.

Arts education at all levels is central to the Trinity Rep mission. Since 1977, the Trinity Rep Conservatory has guided the new generation of actors and directors with training in the environment of a professional producing theater. The Conservatory has granted the MFA degree through Rhode Island College since 1998. In September 2002, the Conservatory and Brown University launched major new masters and doctoral programs. The Brown/Trinity Consortium hopes to expand to include design and technical degrees with Rhode Island School of Design and Rhode Island College.

Through Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's pioneering educational outreach program launched in 1966, the theater introduces over 30,000 students a year to live theater through daytime performances of Trinity Rep productions. The Young Actors Studio allows thousands of students across the region to participate in after-school enrichment activities at the theater as well as in outreach programs at local community centers. More in-depth arts education is offered through post-show discussions with the actors, in-school visits, and backstage workshops. In ongoing community outreach, Trinity Rep cultivates new audiences throughout southeastern New England with a sign-interpreted performance and Pay-What-You-Can performance for each production, and with a variety of rush and targeted discounts.

From its roots in Providence's Trinity United Methodist Church, Trinity Repertory Company moved in 1973 to its present home, the Lederer Theater Center in downtown Providence. Formerly known as the Majestic Theatre, the historic building houses two performance spaces: the 500-plus seat Chace Theater and the 300-seat Dowling Theater, as well as offices, production shops, rehearsal halls, and Conservatory studios. The theater is wheelchair accessible and offers an Assistive Listening System for the hearing-impaired.

Thanks to Citizens Bank’s June 2000 gift of a former branch building around the corner, Trinity Rep has built the Citizens Bank Theater in the Pell Chafee Performance Center. This educational center, with a theater space with flexible seating for up to 250, is a home for the Brown/Trinity Consortium’s graduate program and Trinity’s 4-12 educational activities.

As Rhode Island's largest arts organization, Trinity Rep has a significant impact on the community, and is a linchpin of Providence's arts and entertainment district. With an annual budget of $8 million, the theater employs 130 artistic and administrative staff, and generates more than $24 million in economic activity each year. The theater enjoys support from the region's leading corporations as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, The Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities, and the City of Providence.

Curt Columbus became artistic director in January 2006, following Amanda Dehnert, Oskar Eustis, Richard Jenkins, Anne Bogart and Adrian Hall.  Executive director Michael Gennaro leads the company in partnership with the artistic director.