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Primary Stages was founded in l984 as a New York State non-profit theater company with the mission of producing new plays and fostering the artistic development of emerging and established playwrights. By offering an environment where writers are encouraged to explore the scope of their creative vision, Primary Stages has been instrumental in developing the skills of hundreds of young artists as well as helping to create a library of new works for the American theater. Primary Stages has given life to more than 90 new plays, many of them world premieres, by writers such as Horton Foote, A.R. Gurney, Willy Holtzman, Julia Jordan, Romulus Linney, Donald Margulies, Melissa Manchester, Terrence McNally, John Henry Redwood, John Patrick Shanley, Mac Wellman, Lee Blessing and Michele Lowe. The company also continues to work with emerging playwrights through commissions and its artist development program, The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group. Over the years, the company has received considerable critical acclaim and numerous theater and literary awards and nominations, including Obie, AUDELCO, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel , Drama League and Drama Desk Awards. The Fourth Wall, All in the Timing, The Old Settler , Missing/Kissing, The Model Apartment, Scotland Road, You Should Be So Lucky, The Stendhal Syndrome, Sabina, Dividing the Estate and In The Continuum are among the many plays brought to national attention by Primary Stages. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years on West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters. This new theater has increased Primary Stages profile in New York City while boosting our reputation as one of the premiere theaters for the development of new work. This move has marked a period of unprecedented growth for the company and has created tremendous opportunities for expanding our audience and funding bases, establishing a new cultural venue on the Upper East Side, and securing our future in the New York theatrical landscape.