Theatre for a New Audience

What Theatre for a New Audience does

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a New York-based non-profit theatre company founded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, producing Shakespeare and classic drama alongside works by contemporary playwrights at its permanent home, the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn. The venue, opened in October 2013 and designed by Hugh Hardy, comprises the 299-seat Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage — uniquely configurable across proscenium, thrust, runway, and in-the-round formats with capacity adjustable from 99 to 299 seats — and the 50-seat Theodore C. Rogers Studio for intimate productions and workshops. TFANA has produced 35 of Shakespeare's 38 plays and has toured nationally and internationally, including as the first American company invited to perform at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

TFANA operates a hybrid revenue model combining earned and contributed income. Earned revenue is generated through subscription packages (Four-Play $230, Three-Play $196, Flex Pass $270), single-ticket sales, group rates ($50 adult / $25 student for 10+), venue rentals, and food and beverage concessions operated by Sweet Hospitality Group. Contributed revenue flows from individual donations across five tiers (membership $1-$999 through Catalysts $10,000+), foundation grants (Ford, Hearst, Polonsky, Bay and Paul, Jerome L. Greene), government sources (NEH, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NEA via Arts Midwest), and an annual gala. Accessibility pricing tiers — New Deal ($20 for under-30s and students), Teacher Tix ($32 for NYC public school educators), and discounted subscriber guest tickets — broaden audience reach.

The company runs the largest in-depth Shakespeare and classic drama education programs in NYC Public Schools, serving 140,000+ students since 1984 through the World Theatre Project and New Voices Project, with subsidies covering up to 75% of program costs for qualifying schools. Teacher professional development includes the NEH Summer Institute and the USDOE-funded Shakespeare & Social Justice curriculum consortium with Shakespeare Centre LA, Shakespeare Theatre Company DC, Old Globe San Diego, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Humanities programming connects scholars and audiences via lectures and post-performance discussions. In September 2025, Arin Arbus succeeded Jeffrey Horowitz as Artistic Director; Dorothy Ryan serves as Executive Director.

Name

Theatre for a New Audience

Legal name

Theatre for a New Audience

Website

http://www.tfana.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Theatre for a New Audience is a New York non-profit theatre company founded in 1979 that produces Shakespeare and classic drama at its permanent Brooklyn home, the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, serving general audiences, NYC Public School students, and educators through productions, subscriptions, and education programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711)

akta.pro primary industry

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB), Theatre Services & Design (Scenic/Costume/Props/Stage Management) (MPAGABAO), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Shakespeare theatre productions
• Classic drama performances
• Arts education programs
• Live theatrical productions
• Theatre venue rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Subscription packages ranging from $196-$270 and single tickets for productions at Polonsky Shakespeare Center. Includes discounted group rates for adult groups ($50) and student groups ($25).
2. Individual Donations: Annual fund gifts, membership programs ($1-$999), Producers Circle ($1,000-$9,999), Catalysts ($10,000+), Young Patrons Association ($500-$750), and legacy fund donations
3. Food & Beverage Concessions: Food and beverage service operated by Sweet Hospitality Group in the Polonsky Shakespeare Center lobby, opening one hour prior to each performance through intermission
4. Venue Rentals: Rental of Polonsky Shakespeare Center spaces including the Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage and Irving Harris Foundation Lobby for theatrical performances, cultural events, corporate events, film screenings, and receptions

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a non-profit classical theatre company that produces and presents Shakespeare and classic drama at its permanent home, the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn. The organization stages a subscription season of theatrical productions, runs arts education residency programs in NYC Public Schools, hosts teacher professional development including an NEH Summer Institute, and rents its venue for external events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Folger Shakespeare LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheatre for a New Audience is proud to be a partner of the Folger Shakespeare Library, collaborating on humanities programming and Shakespeare education initiatives
• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2001, TFANA became the first American theatre company invited to perform at the RSC. In 2024-2025, The Shakespeare Exchange inaugurated an exchange of productions: RSC's Macbeth (an undoing) played at TFANA and TFANA's Merchant of Venice played at the Lyceum in Edinburgh.
• Royal Lyceum Theatre of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through The Shakespeare Exchange, an exchange of productions between TFANA and the Lyceum. In 2025, TFANA's The Merchant of Venice starring John Douglas Thompson, directed by Arin Arbus, played at the Lyceum.
• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTFANA developed the Critically Conscious Shakespeare course in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, using performance-based approaches from RSC's rehearsal room methodology.
• Shakespeare Center of Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTFANA is participating in a 5-year USDOE-funded research project (Shakespeare & Social Justice) led by the Shakespeare Center of LA in collaboration with Southern Poverty Law Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company of DC, and Old Globe in San Diego.
• Southern Poverty Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in USDOE-funded Shakespeare & Social Justice curriculum project, providing Social Justice Standards framework for teaching Shakespeare in ELA classrooms.
• Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington DC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating partner in the 5-year USDOE-funded Shakespeare & Social Justice curriculum project alongside Shakespeare Center of LA and Southern Poverty Law Center.
• The Old Globe (San Diego)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating partner in the 5-year USDOE-funded Shakespeare & Social Justice curriculum project alongside Shakespeare Center of LA and Southern Poverty Law Center.
• Sweet Hospitality GroupmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSweet Hospitality Group operates food and beverage concessions at Polonsky Shakespeare Center under the Monica and Ali Wambold Food & Drink brand. SHG is a premier theater concessions and catering company operating at 30 theaters in NYC and beyond.
• Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScholars from ACMRS contribute to TFANA's Shakespeare & Social Justice curriculum project with expertise in early modern critical race studies.
• Soho RepmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term co-production partner including productions such as An Octoroon and Fairview. TFANA co-commissioned projects with Soho Rep.
• Woolly Mammoth Theatre CompanymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for theatrical productions.
• Rattlestick Playwrights TheatermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for theatrical productions.
• NYC Public SchoolscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner schools participating in World Theatre Project and New Voices Project residencies. TFANA offers subsidies covering up to 75% of program costs for qualifying NYC Public Schools.
• Columbia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNEH Summer Institute participants examine the First Folio at Columbia University's Rare Book Room. Faculty include professors from Columbia's Department of English and Comparative Literature.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Oregon Shakespeare Festival: One of America's largest and oldest Shakespeare-focused festivals based in Ashland, OR, producing a full canon of Shakespeare alongside classic drama. Highly comparable artistic mission, though at a significantly larger scale and outdoor-oriented format.
• American Repertory Theater: Harvard-affiliated regional theatre producing classical and new work with a comparable focus on ambitious repertoire and artist development. Comparable in scale, programming ambition, and education integration.
• Atlantic Theater Company: Off-Broadway NYC theatre producing new and classic work with a small-venue, artist-driven model. Comparable scale, NYC location, and subscription-driven audience model, though less Shakespeare-focused.
• The Public Theater: Off-Broadway NYC theatre producing Shakespeare (Free Shakespeare in the Park) and classic/new work with a strong education mission. Most direct comparability on mission, audience, and Shakespeare focus, though at much larger scale.
• The Old Globe: San Diego-based regional theatre producing Shakespeare and classics, with a co-partnership in TFANA's USDOE Shakespeare & Social Justice project. Comparable on repertoire, education focus, and LORT-class operations.
• Shakespeare Theatre Company: Washington DC regional theatre dedicated to classical Shakespeare and classic drama production, with a co-production partnership already established with TFANA (Merchant of Venice, 2022). Directly comparable mission and repertoire.
• Soho Rep: NYC Off-Broadway venue and co-production partner of TFANA (An Octoroon, Fairview). Comparable on producing adventurous classic and contemporary work in intimate NYC venues; smaller in scale.

Broad incumbents

• Roundabout Theatre Company: Large NYC non-profit producing both classic and contemporary work across multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway venues. Comparable on city, mission, and subscription model, though much larger in scale and budget.
• Lincoln Center Theater: NYC's flagship institutional theatre (Vivian Beaumont opened 1965 — explicitly referenced in TFANA's venue history). Produces Shakespeare/classic drama at much larger scale; architecturally and institutionally comparable.
• Royal Shakespeare Company: The UK's national Shakespeare company; TFANA's most prestigious international partner (first US company invited to perform there in 2001). Same artistic mission at far greater scale; not a commercial competitor but a strategic ally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theatreforanewa
• Facebookfacebook.com/theatreforanewaudience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theatre-for-a-new-audience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Theatre for a New Audience