What We Do
We believe that theater is dynamic and that everyone plays an important role in provoking conversations that ignite a fiery, robust exchange of ideas that makes the experience memorable for everyone involved – the ARTISTS to the AUDIENCES. MCC THEATER is an off-Broadway theater company celebrated for developing and producing work that challenges ARTISTS, AUDIENCES, and STUDENTS alike to ask difficult questions at every stage of the creative process.
We encourage ARTISTS to act on their instincts and ask BRAVE questions. We support ACTORS as they DIG DEEP and TAKE RISKS. We invite audiences to LAUGH, HURT, LOVE, WEEP, and CARE. We strive to create theater that matters and PROVOKE CONVERSATIONS that persist and linger long after a performance has ended.
Founded in 1986 as MANHATTAN CLASS COMPANY, MCC began as a collective of young actors, writers, and directors determined to steer their own artistic development and redefine the NY theater scene with the kind of stories they wanted to see on the stage. Beginning in 2019, that work will continue our Hell’s Kitchen theater complex, THE ROBERT W. WILSON MCC THEATER SPACE, a creative hotbed where our artists, staff, and students have the freedom to stir things up, all under one roof.
WE PRODUCE EXCITING THEATER
We produce seasons of BOLD new plays and musicals by exceptional PLAYWRIGHTS daring to explore. The FEARLESSNESS we encourage in ARTISTS broadens our productions and engages AUDIENCE reflection upon and discussion of the most essential, but often overlooked, questions of our time.
WE DEVELOP NEW WORK
We develop NEW WORK by emerging and established artists through a rigorous process that encourages BOLD, CREATIVE RISKS. Our PLAYLABS weave you into our development of new work with the opportunity to attend LIVE READINGS and to participate in OPEN CONVERSATIONS with CREATORS about their work still under development. To date, MCC has developed more than 500 plays that have gone on to be produced in the U.S. and around the world.
WE HONOR YOUNG VOICES
Each year our education programs use the power of theater to rouse the imaginations and excite the minds of over 1200 high school students across ALL FIVE BOROUGHS. Our CLASSROOM PARTNERSHIPS match teaching artists with local schools to develop complimentary arts education programs that UNLOCK CREATIVITY and EMBOLDEN students with new-found confidence in the curriculum. Students interested in deepening their PERFORMING and PLAYWRITING skills can join MCC’s Youth Company, a free, after-school workshop and lab program that provides a rigorous and nurturing creative oasis for students to explore and develop their own BOLD VOICES.
WE GET PEOPLE TALKING
COLLABORATION and COMMUNITY are at the core of everything we do, which is why we invite you, our audience, to join us in conversations at every stage of our work. PLAYLABS, Post-show TALKBACKS, AUDIENCE CONVERSATIONS, and free PANEL DISCUSSIONS give you the chance to discuss with guest experts, cast members, and creative teams the work you experience on our stages. TWITTER CHATS inspired by themes from our productions bring those conversations online where EVERYONE IS WELCOME, even if you haven’t seen the work onstage.
You may not always like our work – but we hope you’ll always want to talk about it.
