History
Trinity Rep was founded when a small group of Rhode Island citizens sought to create a professional resident theater company in Providence. Incorporated as "The Foundation for Repertory Theater of Rhode Island, Inc." on March 21, 1963, the group hired Adrian Hall, a New York-based director originally from Texas. At Trinity Union Methodist Church, located in Trinity Square, the first production "The Hostage" by Brendan Behan, opened on March 14, 1964. In 1968, Trinity Rep performed at the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland, the first American theater company to do so. The company received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater Company in 1981, produced four television productions for PBS, toured India and Syria, and has a strong commitment to the development of new works.
The Trinity Rep Conservatory opened in 1977, serving as a training ground for actors. A partnership in 2001 between Trinity Rep and Brown University created the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program for degrees in theatrical arts.
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 a historical vaudeville performance house known as the Emery 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, and rehearsal halls.
Read more about this topic: Trinity Repertory Company
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“English history is all about men liking their fathers, and American history is all about men hating their fathers and trying to burn down everything they ever did.”
—Malcolm Bradbury (b. 1932)
“To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)