Who We Are

PlayMakers is...

“One of America’s Best Regional Theatres” (American Theatre Magazine), PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company, proudly in residence on the dynamic campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The professional company was founded in 1976, growing out of a storied 100 year tradition of playmaking at Carolina. Our mission is to produce relevant, courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives. We believe that theatre can have a transformational impact on individuals and entire communities, and we are committed to the work of becoming an anti-racist organization whose work is accessible to all.

For the past several years, PlayMakers has produced ten shows on two stages each year in our home venue, the Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art, bringing the transformative power of theatre to more than 50,000 audience members annually, from over 50 counties. At the very heart of the PlayMakers experience is one of the nation’s last remaining resident theatre companies, made up of accomplished performers, directors, designers, artisans, and technicians, and supported by exceptional graduate students in UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art. Our company works side by side with guest artists from all over the world and our alumni include Pulitzer Prize, Tony®, Emmy®, and Grammy Award® winners.

Creating Tomorrow’s Classics, Today

Producing Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch is continuing PlayMakers’ tradition of producing vibrantly reimagined classics, large-scale musical theatre, and significant contemporary work, but is also broadening the company’s reach to become a home for new play development and a true hub of social and civic discourse in the region. Her first four seasons have already given life to eight important new American plays.

Provoking Conversation

PlayMakers seeks to provoke thought, stimulate discussion and push the boundaries of the theatrical form in everything we do. Whether through our intimate PRC2 series, our mainstage offerings or i our virtual line-up, we look for opportunities for direct, dynamic engagement between audiences, artists and subject matter experts.

Theatre for the People

PlayMakers Mobile is an initiative that seeks to contribute positively to the civic and social life of our region by taking world-class theatre out of our building and into the community. We create a streamlined production a play each year and take it to schools, transitional housing facilities, and long-term treatment facilities around the Greater Triangle area. It’s all free of charge, since too often the people who can benefit from theatre the most are the ones who don’t have access to it.

Leaving Eden, 2018. Photo by HuthPhoto

A Hub of Engagement

Beyond being the region’s go-to for dynamic and entertaining stories, PlayMakers is a home for memorable conversations that allow us to make connections with the work and with each other well beyond the experience of a production. A host of unique engagement opportunities enrich our audience's experience of the live arts. This season, alongside our six theatrical offerings check out our PlayMakers Keeping You Company content at playmakersrep.org/keeping-you-company/

Passing the Torch

PlayMakers’ award-winning Summer Youth Conservatory is the only professionally supported training program of its kind in the region. The Theatre Quest program provides camps to area middle school students, while the Theatre Intensive and TheatreTech programs allow Triangle high schoolers to apprentice directly with professional directors, choreographers, musical directors, and technicians, culminating in a professional quality production on the PlayMakers mainstage for the whole community to enjoy.

Eliminating Barriers

With a commitment to eliminating barriers for attendance when we host live events, PlayMakers offers All Access performances for our patrons living with disabilities, Community Nights where all tickets are just $15, and tickets reduced to just $10 for UNC students and $12 for all other students. Our Spotlight on Service program also offers complimentary tickets to local service organizations. This virtual season, we are offering captioning to all of our streaming programs as well as free tickets to UNC students and front-line workers. 9

JOIN US FOR A DIGITAL CONCERT EXPERIENCE

NOW AVAILABLE

Considered the most beautiful and dynamic of all the instruments at the time, the human voice was the main point of reference for Baroque composers. In this program, The COT presents the works of four different Baroque masters, each one with a very individual musical language, but all taking inspiration from the same source.

Featuring Molly Quinn | soprano Anna Lampidis|oboe THE COT IS PROUD TO PRESENT DIGITAL VIEWING FOR THE 2020/21 SEASON.

Whether it’s a featured concert or a Verona Quartet recital, you can watch it on-demand, online. Pick a single concert to enjoy, or subscribe to our full season for access to every musical performance, complete with exclusive musician interviews and backstage looks. Watch on your schedule, and even view previously released concerts whenever you wish! Support the musicians of The COT until it is safe for everyone to return to the concert hall, while viewing exciting new content all season long!