2024-644-E-Arts Commission-The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - PlayMakers Repertory Company-Developing new work and young artists

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Organization Description Dubbed one of “America’s Best Regional Theatres” (American Theatre Magazine), PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company and the only LORT theatre in the Carolinas. Rooted in an esteemed 100-year tradition of playmaking at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, PlayMakers’ mission is to produce relevant, courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives. W e believe that theatre can have a transformational impact on individuals and entire communities and are committed to becoming an anti-racist organization whose work is accessible to all. PlayMakers also serves as the professional laboratory for UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Dramatic Art and is devoted to nurturing and training future generations of artists and audiences. PlayMakers traditionally produces up to nine professional productions across two stages at the Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art in Chapel Hill, bringing reimagined classic works and dynamic new plays to up to 50,000 audience members annually, 15% of which are UNC-Chapel Hill students. W e are one of the few remaining repertory companies in the United States with a resident core of accomplished performers, designers, artisans, and technicians working alongside renowned guest artists as well as graduate students in the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Dramatic Art’s acting, technical, and costume production programs. For the last several years, the Hollywood Reporter has listed UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program (PATP) in the top 20 graduate acting programs in the world, citing student membership in the PlayMakers’ resident company as a unique asset. As a professional theatre in residence at a major research university, PlayMakers is uniquely positioned to lead the way in integrating the making of new art with the creation of new knowledge. In a 2022 outside study of PlayMakers and its home in the Department of Dramatic Art, reviewers noted that the relationship between PlayMakers and the Department of Dramatic Art “is not only a jewel for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; it is also a flagship for theatre training in America.” Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch since 2016, PlayMakers has continued a tradition of producing vibrantly reimagined classics, large-scale musical theatre, and significant contemporary work. Benesch is especially committed to PlayMakers’ role as a hub of social and civic discourse in the region and to building our reputation as an incubator for new American plays. Between 2016 and 2018, PlayMakers developed and premiered its first full commission, LEAVING EDEN, conceived by local playwright Mike W iley and singer-songwriter Laurelyn Dossett. W orking on this piece emboldened our organization and our community to engage with more risk-taking new work. Through a transformative gift from a loyal patron, in 2021, PlayMakers established the New Commissions Fund to continue cultivating the next generation of great American plays and playwrights. The fund’s first commission, Bekah Brunstetter’s THE GAME, premiered in April 2024 at PlayMakers; the second, Mike W iley and Howard Craft’s THE CHRISTMAS CASE OF HEZEKIAH JONES, will have its world premiere in December 2024. Docusign Envelope ID: 5C256EF3-BBCD-4FD6-922F-A5FC9410DC42