Ensemble Studio Theatre
Latest News on Ensemble Studio Theatre:
BIO
Ensemble Studio Theatre (William Carden, Artistic Director; Paul A. Slee, Executive Director) -- commonly known as EST -- was founded by Curt Dempster in 1968 on the belief that extraordinary support yields extraordinary work. It is a dynamic and expanding family of theatre people committed to the discovery and nurturing of new voices, and the continued support and growth of artists throughout their creative lives. Its ensemble works together repeatedly over time to develop and produce original, provocative, and authentic new plays. With 591 ensemble artists concentrated mainly in New York City, EST has been under the artistic direction of William Carden since 2007. EST was honored with 2012 Obie Awards for its under-30 playwrights program, Youngblood, and for Ensemble artist Steven Boyer for his outstanding performance in 2011's breakout success, Hand To God, developed and originally produced by EST. Hand To God opened to rave reviews at the Booth Theater on Broadway in March 2015, and is now nominated for five Tony Awards. EST received two 2013 Drama Desk Award Nominations for its sold-out production of Finks by Joe Gilford. In 2014 its original production Year of the Rooster, by Eric Dufault, garnered a 2014 Drama Desk Award best featured actor nomination for Bobby Moreno and a NY Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award for Eric Dufault for an outstanding Off Broadway debut by a playwright.
Photos
Productions
Awards and Nominations
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Ensemble Studio Theatre, When January Feels Like Summer
Ensemble Studio Theatre, Hand to God
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Ensemble Studio TheatreYoungblood
Studio TheatreSuperior Donuts
Studio TheatreAdding Machine: A Musical
Studio TheatreHistory Boys
Studio TheatreSouvenir, A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins
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Studio TheatreCaroline, or Change
Studio TheatreRicky Jay and His 52 Assistants
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Studio TheatreTake Me Out
Studio TheatreA Number
Studio TheatreFlow
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Studio TheatreLackawanna Blues
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Studio TheatreLypsinka! The Boxed Set
Studio TheatreA New Brain
Studio TheatreJitney
Studio TheatreThe Invention of Love
Studio TheatreMASTER HAROLD ... and the boys
Studio TheatreSlam!
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Studio TheatreIndian Ink
Studio TheatreVagina Monologues
Studio TheatreSeven Guitars
Studio TheatreOld Settler
Studio TheatreOld Wicked Songs
Studio TheatreHip 2: Birth of the Boom
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Studio TheatreBessie's Blues
Studio TheatreThree Sisters
Studio TheatreFalsettoland
Studio TheatreLisbon Traviata
Studio TheatreWhen I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout
Studio TheatreFrankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Studio Theatre
Studio Theatre
Studio TheatreGifts of the Magi
Studio Theatre
Studio Theatre
Videos
Video: Watch Highlights from THE RESERVOIR at Atlantic Theater Company
by Nicole Rosky - 2026-02-19 16:04:54
Video: First Look at GALILEE, 34 by Eleanor Burgess at South Coast Rep
by Joshua Wright - 2024-05-03 11:29:01
Video: First Look At WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS? at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
by Joshua Wright - 2024-04-29 17:05:16
Exclusive: Cast Of Old Globe's ENGLISH On Favorite Classroom Memories
by Joshua Wright - 2024-02-14 13:48:34
News
by A.A. Cristi - Jul 24, 2026
Eric Conger's one-act IN A BLIND, directed by Youlim Nam, has added a performance at Chain Theatre's Summer One-Act Festival following sold-out shows. The play stars Tom Ryan and Justin Dusenbury.
by Stephi Wild - Jul 21, 2026
Theatre Group Asia has announced that Filipino-American theater director Nicholas Polonio will direct its upcoming production of The Notebook, The Musical. Learn more here.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jul 6, 2026
Amanda + James and the cell will present the world premiere of The Charioteer, a new play by Dan Giles about a brother and sister navigating political transformation and family loyalty, directed by Matt Dickson.
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 26, 2026
Center Theatre Group's LA Writers' Workshop Reading Series will feature six new plays at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and REDCAT, marking the program's 20th anniversary. Tickets are $17.25 for general admission.
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 25, 2026
Penguin Rep Theatre will present Lloyd Suh's THE HEART SELLERS, directed by Maria Mileaf, at its Stony Point, New York hay barn venue. The two-hander follows immigrant women from the Philippines and South Korea navigating new lives in 1973 America.
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 25, 2026
Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced ten recipients for their 2026 Science and Technology New Play Commissions, continuing a 25-year program that has developed over 300 plays exploring science.
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 22, 2026
Eric Conger's one-act IN A BLIND, directed by Youlim Nam, will be staged at the Chain Theatre Summer One-Act Festival, featuring actors Justin Dusenbury and Tom Ryan in a story set in 1967 Indiana.
by Stephi Wild - Jun 22, 2026
HOLE!, the two-hander musical comedy from American Sing-Song's Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, will play Soho Theatre before returning to Edinburgh Fringe's Underbelly Cowbarn, following a sold-out 2025 run.
by Stephi Wild - Jun 11, 2026
The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF), in partnership with The Lillys, have announced graduate students Brittany K. Allen and Anterior Leverett as the 2026 recipients for the Hansberry-Lilly Fellowship.
by Marissa Faith Curley - May 30, 2026
WAM Theatre has announced its 2026 summer programming, featuring the return of the Fresh Takes Play Reading Series at Ventfort Hall and the launch of the Fertile Ground New Works Residency Program at the ’62 Center.
by A.A. Cristi - May 29, 2026
The Tank NYC announced the lineup for PRIDEFEST 2026, an annual festival of new performances by queer artists curated by Max Mooney, featuring theater, comedy, puppetry, storytelling, and music at The Tank in New York City.
by A.A. Cristi - May 28, 2026
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club has announced staged readings of CUL-DE-SAC by Leslie Gauthier and HOUSE GYALZ by Abigail C. Onwunali, this year's Morgan Jenness Experiments in Playwriting Fellows.
by - May 21, 2026
Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is May 21, 2026 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
by Stephi Wild - May 20, 2026
Ensemble Studio Theatre announced legacy gifts from the families of playwrights Arthur Giron and Bridgette A. Wimberly, including a Memorial Writers Fund honoring Wimberly, with Stephanie Berry and Cassandra Medley named as inaugural recipients.
by Stephi Wild - May 12, 2026
HOLE!, the two-hander musical comedy from American Sing-Song, will transfer to Soho Theatre's main space before returning to Edinburgh Fringe, following a sold-out 2025 run and performances at The Public Theater in New York.
by A.A. Cristi - May 11, 2026
The Rita and Burton Goldberg MFA Playwriting Program at Hunter College will present an industry reading of I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU by PJ O'Neal, featuring Ryan Jamaal Swain of FX's Pose and Tony nominee Annie McNamara.
by Stephi Wild - May 11, 2026
WHAT SURVIVES, a new one-act play about a community reckoning with an ICE abduction, will have its world premiere at The Broadwater in Los Angeles during the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
by A.A. Cristi - May 7, 2026
Road Theatre Company announced an extension of HELL MOUTH, the world premiere written by Tom Jacobson and directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, closing at the Road Theatre in North Hollywood.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Apr 22, 2026
Dolores, Edward Allan Baker's two-hander about working-class sisters confronting abuse and shared trauma, will be presented at Under St. Marks in New York City, starring Sinead Hogan and Coralie Bradnam.
by Stephi Wild - Apr 21, 2026
MISTER SNICKERS OF NEW YORK CITY, starring Broadway's Sharon Wheatley and puppet artist Aaron Haskell, will present its world premiere at the Fresh Fruit Festival before extending to Urban Stages.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Special Award (Drama Desk Awards) for When January Feels Like Summer, Best Play (Tony Awards) for Hand to God, Special Citation: Ross Wetzsteon Grant (Obie Awards) for Youngblood, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Superior Donuts, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for Adding Machine: A Musical, The Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for History Boys, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Souvenir, A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for Caroline, or Change, Outstanding Non-Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Take Me Out, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for A Number, Outstanding Non-Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for Flow, Outstanding Non-Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for Lackawanna Blues, Outstanding Non-Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for Lypsinka! The Boxed Set, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for A New Brain, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Jitney, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for The Invention of Love, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for MASTER HAROLD ... and the boys, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for Slam!, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Indian Ink, Outstanding Non-Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for Vagina Monologues, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Seven Guitars, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Old Settler, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Old Wicked Songs, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for Hip 2: Birth of the Boom, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for Bessie's Blues, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Three Sisters, Outstanding Resident Musical (Helen Hayes Awards) for Falsettoland, Outstanding Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Lisbon Traviata, Outstanding Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout, Outstanding Resident Production (Helen Hayes Awards) for Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production (Olivier Awards) for , Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Production (Olivier Awards) for , Outstanding Resident Musical (Olivier Awards) for Gifts of the Magi, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Production (Olivier Awards) for and Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Production (Olivier Awards) for .
Ensemble Studio Theatre has won several prestigious awards, including the Special Award at the Drama Desk Awards for When January Feels Like Summer. They received the Special Citation: Ross Wetzsteon Grant from the Obie Awards for Youngblood. Additionally, the theatre earned the Outstanding Resident Musical award at the Helen Hayes Awards for Caroline, or Change, and the Outstanding Resident Play award for Take Me Out. They also won the Outstanding Non-Resident Production award for Lackawanna Blues and for Lypsinka! The Boxed Set. Furthermore, Ensemble Studio Theatre was honored with the Outstanding Resident Play award for Indian Ink and the Outstanding Resident Musical award for Bessie's Blues at the Helen Hayes Awards.
