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Theatre Profiles: Glossary

Artistic Leader's Statement

All artistic leaders were invited to submit a personal statement describing the artistic philosophy governing their work and their respective institutions. While all have been edited for style, every attempt has been made to retain the individuality of each statement.

Actors' Equity Associate Contracts

The following AEA abbreviations are used:

For more information about AEA contracts, visit www.actorsequity.org.

Contact Information

The mailing address (and theatre address if different from mailing address) of each organization is included. Telephone numbers are listed and labeled as to their use. Email and website information is also included. Website addresses are live links to theatres' websites.

Facility

A facility is a building which houses one or more performance spaces ("venues"). Some theatres have several venues inside a single facility; some theatres have more than one facility. When a facility only has a single performance space, the facility and the venue may share the same name. For touring productions, it is usually simpler to add "On tour" as a facility (and also a venue), rather than list out each space where a touring show performed.

Finances

Operating expenses are included to provide a general sense of the overall size of each theatre's operation. Theatres' general operating expenses will be used to identify their TCG Budget Group (listed below)

  • Group 1: $50,000-$499,999
  • Group 2: $500,000-$999,999
  • Group 3: $1,000,000-$2,999,999
  • Group 4: $3,000,000-$4,999,999
  • Group 5: $5,000,000-$9,999,999
  • Group 6: $10,000,000 and above

Founding Date and Founders

Founding date generally represents the beginning of public performances. In a few cases, the founding date represents conceptual or legal establishment of the organization. The names of all founders are listed under the date.

League of Resident Theatre (LORT) Membership and Contracts

LORT contracts indicated by letters enclosed in parentheses following the AEA contract abbreviations designate the size of theatre and scale of payment. Also, not every theatre using a LORT contract is a member of the League of Resident Theatres. We have indicated which theatres are members. Please note that members of LORT also operate under agreements with the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) and United Scenic Artists (USA), which are referenced to the LORT/Equity contracts. For more specific information on these contracts, please contact the unions or LORT directly.

Production Lists

Productions are listed by production date. Theatres' profiles will list the current season with links to previous seasons back to September of 1995. Production listings will include the play title followed by the name of the playwright and, where applicable, the adapter, translator, and/or source of literary adaptation if such information was provided. In the case of musicals or plays with music, all composers, librettists and lyricists are included. The director and set, lighting, costume and sound designers follow. Choreographers are included where applicable.

Production listings will also note when a production is a world or American premiere, and whether or not it was a co-production. In the case of co-productions, the co-producer will be listed.

Season

Season information is included as a general guide to the annual performance dates of each theatre. The months listed indicate the opening and closing of each theatre's season. "Year-round" designates companies that perform continuously throughout the year; "variable" indicates irregular or varying schedules.

Special Interests

Theatre listings include special interests, which indicate the nature of the work produced by the theatre. Any special interest appearing in a theatre's listing indicates that the type of work specified (e.g. musical theatre, African-American work of theatre for young audiences) represents a minimum of 15% of the theatre's programming over a three-year period.

Theatre Leadership

Each profile includes a theatre's artistic, managerial and board leader. We have designed the database to accommodate theatres' unique leadership styles that may include more than one person per position.

Venue

Venues are the theatre space(s) in which each company regularly performs. Each venue is in a facility, but a facility may have more than one venue. The seating capacity and type of stage are included for each venue. The name of the space is provided if it differs from the organization's name. The following terminology is used in describing each venue.

  • Proscenium: The traditional, picture-window stage separated from the auditorium by a proscenium arch, so that the audience views the action from a single "fourth wall" perspective.
  • Thrust: All types of facilities wherein the stage juts into the audience and is thereby surrounded on three sides. A "modified thrust" or "modified proscenium" protrudes less, often utilizing a fan-shaped apron on which action can take place.
  • Arena: Also called "theatre-in-the-round." The audience completely surrounds the stage.
  • Flexible: All types of theatre space which can be altered or converted from one category to another. Black Box theatre spaces are a specific kind of flexible space.
  • Cabaret: A simple performance platform, with the audience usually seated at tables.