Theater News

Public Theater Announces Partnership With Brooklyn College

The new collaboration will aim to foster a diverse generation of arts leaders.

The Public Theater's artistic director Oskar Eustis and executive director Patrick Willingham welcome a partnership between the Public and Brooklyn College.
The Public Theater's artistic director Oskar Eustis and executive director Patrick Willingham welcome a partnership between the Public and Brooklyn College.
(© David Gordon)

The Public Theater and Brooklyn College have announced a new partnership that will strengthen both institutions' deep commitment to fostering the professional development of talented emerging artists and arts administrators. The partnership, supported by the Tow Foundation, will invest in nurturing generations of arts leaders whose presence will help diversify the field.

The partnership launches a suite of activities, including master classes, arts administration fellowships, and research opportunities. To inaugurate this initiative, the Public Theater recently hosted the 12th annual Bring A Weasel and A Pint of Your Own Blood Festival, presented by the Brooklyn College Theater Program. The festival featured new plays written by M.F.A. students in Mac Wellman's renowned playwriting program. For two weeks, the Public's Shiva Theater served as a laboratory for Brooklyn College playwrights, directors, designers, and actors to collaborate on explosive experiments in form.

This month, Brooklyn College additionally hosted two Public Theater artist research residencies. Working with students, and with the resources of Brooklyn College at their disposal, resident artists Daniel Alexander Jones, Kaneza Schaal, and Christopher Myers explored and prototyped new ideas in design, text, and form.

"We are so grateful that the Public Theater and Brooklyn College could find a way to partner together and foster new voices in the American theater," said Public Theater executive director Patrick Willingham. "As an alumnus of Brooklyn College, I cannot imagine a better university to align with, and I am thrilled that the Tow Foundation could help make this endeavor possible with its incredible support. The Public values artists at all levels and we are ecstatic about working with such a creative and diverse group of students."