THE VARSITY THEATRE COMPANY
THE
VARSITY THEATRE COMPANY
ABOUT
THE
VARSITY
The Varsity Theatre Company is a New York based collaboration formed with the intent of creating work that stimulates the modern audience through detailed exploration of characters and their humanity. Believing that the political is personal and that philosophies are often defined by social interactions, The Varsity seeks to engage with the large, sweeping questions of our society from the ground up through developing new work and generating new interpretations of existing texts. Central to The Varsity’s mission is its focus on experimenting with and pushing the boundaries of how theatre uses visceral elements - sound, movement, duration, etc. - to replicate human emotion and the human experience.
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The Varsity, restructured coming out of the pandemic, is both committed to new work while remaining open to groundbreaking productions of existing plays. The Varsity's 2022-2023 Season will consist of one Mainstage Production, two New Works Readings (one of which will be a new musical), and one Existing Works Reading.
Upcoming Work:
Shedding Load at 59E59 Theatres
By Jessica Owens
Directed by Mia Walker
On July 13, 1977, lightning struck three times in the New York area causing a city-wide blackout. In the following hours rioters destroyed multiple city blocks, millions of dollars’ worth of property, and the dreams of one Bushwick family. With their store and livelihood burned to the ground, they rely on each other to stay hopeful among the ruins.
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SHEDDING LOAD follows this family, from 1938 to 2014, as they uncover long-kept family secrets, confront generational trauma, and face the fallout of how a singular event can alter a neighborhood forever.
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Feb 2nd, 2022 - Feb 18th, 2022
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UPCOMING SHOWS & EVENTS
PAST PRODUCTIONS
THE VALKYRIES
Lady Fest at The Tank - August 2019
Dixon Place Lounge - December, 2018
I LOVE NEW YORK: a found text american dream
The Tank - July 14-31, 2018
Dixon Place - January, 2018
MAY: A NEW MUSICAL FABLE
Inaugural "New Works Readings: Musical Edition"
TEAM
The Varsity is a rotating collective of like minded artists. This means, historically, we've kept a small permanent team on the books while working with our Resident Artists on production and development.
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This lean model was especially helpful throughout the pandemic, as The Varsity took a pause on presenting and producing. All the while, however, we were encouraging new work which we look forwarding to developing and presenting to audiences soon.
Producing Director / Co-Founder
Jessica Owens (she/her) is a Playwright Dramaturg, Producer and Theatre Administrator. Writing includes Shedding Load (O'Neill 2021 Semifinalist), The Valkyries (O'Neill 2020 Semifinalist) (The Tank, Dixon Place) I LOVE NEW YORK: a found text american dream/nightmare (Dixon Place, The Tank) Dramaturgy includes: Farragut North (5th Floor Theatre Company), The Glass Menagerie (Pigeonholed Theatre), I Once Found Myself in an Isolation Chamber (The Tank), The Pitchforks (The Loading Dock, The Drama League), Macbeth (Columbia Stages), Northern Lights (ATHE Development Workshop), Ascent, and MAY: A New Musical Fable.
Jessica is the Manager of Administration and Labor Relations Analytics at Roundabout Theatre Company and has worked at such institutions as The Broadway League, The Public Theater, and Creative Artists Agency. She is a Script Reader for Roundabout, The Public, The Dramatists Guild Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm, Jewish Plays Project, and various other playwrighting competitions. Co-Founder of The Varsity Theatre Company and Initiative for Millennial Theatre Artists. She holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and an MA from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts & Birkbeck College.
Technical and Production Advisor/ Co-Founder /
Resident Sound Designer
Aidan Carr (he/him) is a composer, lyricist, playwright, performer, and sound designer. He has worked at ART-NY, Long Wharf Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Dixon Place, The Tank, Summer Theatre of New Canaan, and Woodbridge Performing Arts Academy. He is a co-founder of the Initiative for Millennial Theatre Artists in New York. Aidan is currently pursuing his MFA in Playwrighting from Columbia University. BA English & Spanish (Vanderbilt University).
Resident Artists
Will Bonfiglio, Matthew Russell, Madeline Fansler, Eli Branson
SUPPORT
The Varsity Theatre Company is fiscally sponsored through Fractured Atlas.
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To support The Varsity through a tax deductible donation please visit The Varsity's Donation Page.