Theatre for a New Audience to Host Launch Event for THE GHOSTLIGHT PROJECT

Theatre for a New Audience will participate in The Ghostlight Project, which was conceived by a group of theatre artists in response to the Presidential election, and which aims to unitemembers of the theatre community nationwide in resisting intolerance and working to support vulnerable communities.

Joining theaters across the country in a simultaneous, collective action, TFANA will hold a launch event for the Project at 5pm on January 19, the eve of the Inauguration, at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place) in Downtown Brooklyn. The event, which is open to the public, will include remarks by Jeffrey Horowitz and a Ghostlight lighting. Reservations are encouraged and can be made here.

The Ghostlight Project seeks to create a "light" for challenging times ahead. Inspired by the tradition of leaving a "ghost light" on in a darkened theater, theatre artists and communities will make or renew a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation and compassion for everyone, regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, gender identity or sexual orientation. Participants in the initiative range from Broadway to regional theaters, high schools, colleges and community theatre.

By participating on January 19, TFANA signals that its theater is one of what the Ghostlight Project describes as "brave spaces that will serve as lights in the coming years." Brave spaces are ones where it is safe to be who you are; where active listening and courageous exchange are fundamental values; and where collective action, activism and community engagement-both within and outside the walls of the theater-are cultivated, encouraged and supported.

The Ghostlight Project will be a resource for theaters, arts communities and individuals to identify and create meaningful action steps, or to continue in the social justice work already underway. The Project's organizers do not intend it as a substitute for protests or direct action, but rather as a pledge for continued vigilance and increased advocacy.

For more information about the Ghostlight Project, visit www.theghostlightproject.com.

Founded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a modern classic theatre. It produces Shakespeare alongside other major authors from the world repertoire, such as Harley Granville Barker, Edward Bond, Adrienne Kennedy, Richard Nelson, Wallace Shawn and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. TFANA has played Off- and on Broadway and toured nationally and internationally.

In 2001, Theatre for a New Audience became the first American theatre invited to bring a production of Shakespeare to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Stratford-upon-Avon. Cymbeline, directed by Bartlett Sher, premiered at the RSC; in 2007, TFANA was invited to return to the RSC with The Merchant of Venice, directed by Darko Tresnjak and starring F. Murray Abraham. In 2011, Mr. Abraham reprised his role as Shylock for a national tour.

After 34 years of being itinerant and playing mostly in Manhattan, Theatre for a New Audience moved to Brooklyn and opened its first permanent home, Polonsky Shakespeare Center, in October 2013. Built by The City of New York in partnership with Theatre for a New Audience, and located in the Brooklyn Cultural District, Polonsky Shakespeare Center was designed by Hugh Hardy and H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture with theatre consultants Akustiks, Milton Glaser, Jean-Guy Lecat, and Theatre Projects. Housed inside the building are the Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage (299 seats)-the first stage built for Shakespeare and classical drama in New York City since Lincoln Center's 1965 Vivian Beaumont-and the Theodore C. Rogers Studio (50 seats).

TFANA's productions have been honored with Tony, Obie, Drama Desk, Drama League, Callaway, Lortel and Audelco awards and nominations and reach an audience diverse in age, economics and cultural background.

Theatre for a New Audience created and runs the largest in-depth program in the New York City Public Schools to introduce students to Shakespeare, and has served more than 128,000 students since the program began in 1984. TFANA's New Deal ticket program is one of the lowest reserved ticket prices for youth in the city: $20 for any show, any time for those 30 years old and under or for full-time students of any age.