Target Margin Theater

Target Margin Theater was founded in 1991 by David Herskovits on the
principle that works of art return us to real truths more powerfully by
their divergence from a strict illustration of reality. Through classic
and contemporary texts, we seek continuously to expand our conception of
what can take place in a theater. Now in our 23rd season, we have
created aggressively re-imagined versions of classics and new creations
inspired by existing sources. Difference is the generative principle of
everything we do. When we program we gravitate toward plays or other
literary material that is different from us; either it is from another
cultural or historical context, or it is strange in language or content,
or it is formally adventurous and challenges our received ideas about
what a play is. This often means aggressively poetic writing like
Gertrude Stein and Shakespeare; or music-theater or opera; or
adaptations of non-dramatic sources. We hope that everything we do
creates a different answer to the question, ‘what is a play?’

Difference as a company principle not only defines the work we create
but also positions us in our social context. We aggressively cast and
staff our work with the broadest range of people. That means racial
diversity has been a guiding principle from the start, but it is no less
true of gender and age differences. We are proud that one way people
identify a TMT show is our history of diverse casts and crews. It also
means that as an artistic matter, we seek to give opportunities to
people to work in new arenas. Our mainstage productions have given first
jobs to designers straight out of grad school, to emerging directors,
and to young actors just getting their union card; our Lab has nurtured
hundreds of young artists. TMT is a place where new talent finds
opportunity.

We are especially proud of the many artists we have inspired and
fostered. TMT has had a significant impact on the field in New York and
nationally by identifying, supporting and influencing a generation of
new artists. The list of artists whose career roots trace back to
working with us is long and growing: Founding Artistic Director of The
Elevator Repair Service John Collins, Tony-nominated designer David
Zinn, Denver Center Literary Director Douglas Langworthy, set designer
Louisa Thompson, award-winning playwright Rinne Groff, director Trip
Cullman, lighting designer Mark Barton, director Carolyn Cantor, Clubbed
Thumb’s Diana Konopka, director Emma Griffin, costume designer Miranda
Hoffman and Tony Award-winning actor John Lloyd Young. Young TMT artists
continue to start their own vibrant companies including Little Lord (a
theater company) and Theater Reconstruction Ensemble. This influence on
our cultural conversation is as much an achievement as the productions
we create, and we hope is effect will be lasting.

Ultimately, Target Margin is defined by the work that we do. Since
our inception, we have worked amongst our many “downtown” peers to share
our excitement and further our ideas of difference, mystery and
entertainment. Our more than 40 mainstage productions include ten world
premieres, seven company-created works, three U.S. premieres and five
new translations. Our productions have garnered four OBIE Awards,
enlisted the talents of hundreds of designers and employed over 500
Equity actors. Recent well-received productions include Uriel Acosta: I Want that Man! at The Chocolate Factory, The (*) Inn at Abrons Arts Center, Uncle Vanya at HERE, The Tempest at HERE, Faust at Classic Stage Company, The Really Big Once at the Ontological, A Family of Perhaps Three at The Chocolate Factory, Ten Blocks on the Camino Real at The Ohio Theater, People Are Wrong at The Vineyard and The Argument and Dinner Party
at The Kitchen. We have also enjoyed creative partnerships with, among
others, The Bushwick Starr, JACK, The Brick and La MaMa. Extending
outside of New York, TMT has been presented at the Spoleto USA Festival
in Charleston, South Carolina, Mass MoCA, the Emelin Theatre and the
Bonn Biennale in Germany. Our various partnerships over the years make
the work possible and broaden our impact on the field at large.

As part of the Seminar on Public Engagement and Collaborative Research, Target Margin Theatre and the Translation research group are collaborating on a theatrical adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s Marco Millions. This adaptation retells O’Neill’s satire of Marco Polo through the lens of translation, culture, class and race and draws on the participation of students, alumni, professors and staff from across the CUNY system. The collaboration is part of Target Margin’s Unseen O’Neill Lab, which will focus on several of Eugene O’Neill’s rarely seen works.