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New Georges was founded by women actors who got to talking about the scarcity of substantive roles for women. The women we knew were strong, witty, complex; women in plays seemed objectified and diminished. And where were plays that dealt with the things we cared about? By producing plays by women, we could create opportunity and herald a new perspective. Perhaps naively, we thought that once we met one woman playwright, we'd be on the trail of more. But it soon became evident that no such network existed -- and from what playwrights were telling us, it wasn't for lack of need. Creating that community became a major goal, and a cornerstone of New Georges' quick evolution from an actors' company to an organization with a much broader mission. From 1992 to 1994, we produced two seasons (six productions of new plays) at the Samuel Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row. This rigorous production schedule left little time or resources for exploring the play development process, creating a community of artists, or building relationships with the many promising artists who began knocking on our door. We asked playwrights what they needed from New Georges, and got one overwhelming answer: space in which to create. In October 1994, we founded The Room, a multi-use workspace, in an 850-square-foot commercial loft in Manhattan's Flatiron District. The Room is home to readings, small-scale presentations and workshops, rehearsals and gatherings; it is a tool for supporting new work, encouraging experimentation, taking opportunities, and facilitating collaboration. In fall 2002, The Room moved to new digs at A.R.T./New York's Spaces at 520 at 520 8th Avenue. Our initial impulse in founding The Room was to shift focus from producing to play development. But the volume of activity there has paved the way for more, and more varied, production opportunities than ever before. From 1995 to 1998, our resident theater was Walkerspace (Soho Rep) in Tribeca; in recent years, we've produced at HERE Arts Center, Ohio Theater, The Culture Project, Baruch Performing Arts Center and were the first resident company at 3LD Art & Technology Center. New Georges has presented 28 full productions of new plays written and directed by women, and ten festivals consisting of short or commissioned plays, solo works and/or performance pieces. Pieces rehearsed or developed in The Room go on to venues throughout New York City . And New Georges has made its presence felt nationally. In recent seasons, playwrights we supported early in their careers have had productions of their work at major theaters around the country, and our affiliated artists have been the recipients of every award, fellowship and residency available to them. In 2005, for example, The National Arts Club's Kesselring Prize was awarded to Deb Margolin for her play Three Seconds in the Key (which we produced in 2004), and New Georges Associate Director Sarah Cameron Sunde received a Princess Grace Award, a fellowship for her work with the company. Also that year, New Georges was included in The Museum of the City of New York 's Perform exhibition as one of a dozen theater companies labeled "The Innovators."