Abingdon Theatre Company (New York City)

Abingdon Theatre Company Mission Statement

Since 1993, Abingdon Theatre Company has developed and produced new plays by American playwrights exclusively. Our actors, directors, designers, producers and dramaturgs have collaborated with more than 200 playwrights to develop original plays.

Under the artistic direction of Jan Buttram and Pamela Paul, the company provides a safe home in which playwrights collaborate with other theatre artists and receive audience feedback through the utilization of our five-step development process: First Readings, Staged Readings, Workout Labs, Stage II Productions and Mainstage Productions.


First Readings
First Readings are free and open to the public. The artistic directors facilitate a post-reading discussion between the playwright and the audience. Audience feedback is invaluable to Abingdon, allowing us to evaluate new material objectively. It is also invaluable to the playwright, who may be hearing his or her script for the first time or after an extensive rewrite.

Staged Readings
Following additional work by the playwright, a further step in a play's progress toward production is a directed, rehearsed staged reading to which the public is invited, free of charge. Again, there are perceptive and constructive observations from the audience. This provides a more complete assessment of the play by both the company and the playwright.

Studio Productions
Abingdon produces two-week runs of plays still in development with modest production values in our Dorothy Strelsin Theatre. This allows playwrights to experience their plays under production conditions before they are exposed to critical review.

Mainstage Productions
Three Mainstage Productions are presented each season in the June Havoc Theatre, with full-scale production values. Mainstage Productions are the centerpieces of Abingdon Theatre Company’s development process—the culmination of Abingdon’s comprehensive services on the playwright’s behalf. A four-week performance schedule allows a wider, more diverse audience for the play's final stage of development, and gives playwrights and their collaborators the best possible tools with which to create new plays, allowing both them and their creations to have an eventual life beyond Abingdon’s stages.


Abingdon is commited to providing low-cost ticket opportunities to an ever-expanding audience of theatre-goers who support the work of emerging artists.