We believe that an unbridled imagination is a force of magic with the power to provoke a more courageous and compassionate world.

Pipeline makes theater of the imagination. Our company thrives on adventure and believes no story is worth telling without a little risk. We love our villains as much as our heroes, especially in those puzzling moments when we can’t quite tell them apart. Above all, we aim to leave you with stories that stick somewhere in your heart, your brain, or your guts.

Pipeline Theatre Company was founded in 2009 as a class project. Far from dioramas and poster-board, the Company Class at the Atlantic Acting School requires students to work together as an ensemble and build a theater company from the ground up: forming an administration, coming up with a name and logo design, constructing a mission statement, and (with financial assistance) producing, directing, designing and performing in a play of the company’s choosing. This is a large undertaking, but the newly formed Pipeline Theatre Company proved to be very successful in their endeavor, presenting Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale.

Fresh off the end of school, Pipeline stuck it out through the summer, and mounted their first independent production in the late summer of 2009. This time, it was the world premiere of company member Tim Chawaga’s Sleepless City. Through this process, more staff positions were added, and the large ensemble began learning how to function as a business, pooling their resources to throw fundraisers, gather production materials, network with designers, and ultimately grow the Pipeline community.

All of these efforts culminated in the production of Charles Busch’s cult classic, Psycho Beach Party, performed in the spring of 2010 with most company members poised to graduate from NYU. This was a critical and box-office success, packing the tiny, underground house and showcasing some of the best aspects of this emerging company; its youth and wild sense of humor.

With Psycho Beach Party came the beginning of another facet of Pipeline, the Second Stage projects. On one of the dark nights at the theater, Pipeline invited members of other young companies from the NYU community to come together for an evening of original works, and the Brave New Works series was formed. After seven successful installments of this series, Pipeline refocused our second stage programming on directly supporting playwrights in spinning their biggest craziest ideas into finished plays. In 2014, we established the PlayLab.

To date, Pipeline’s productions have included: Alex Mills’ Shakespeare the Dead (World Premiere, part of the Dream Up! Festival at Theater for the New City); Bekah Brunstetter’s Fat Kids on Fire (directed by Tony-nominee Peter Frechette); Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle (2011 NY IT Award for Best Original Score for composer Cormac Bluestone, Nomination for Best Lighting Design for Eric Southern, ITBA Special Citation for Outstanding Production); Colby Day’s Felix & The Diligence (World Premiere, 2012 NY IT Award Nomination for Best Set Design for Andy Yanni); Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Ash Girl (directed by Jessika Doyel), Colby Day’s Giant Killer Slugs (World Premier, part of the Dream Up! Festival at Theater for the New City), Adam Szymkowicz’s Clown Bar, (New York Times Critics Pick, 2013 NY IT Award Nominations for Outstanding Featured Actor for Andrew Farmer, for Outstanding Featured Actress for Kelley Rae O’Donnell, for Outstanding Ensemble, and for Outstanding Costume Design for Meghan Gaber), Nate Weida’s folk gibberish musical BYUIOO (world premier), Andrew Farmer’s The Gray Man (world premier), Jason Craig and Dave Malloy’s Beardo (New York premiere; Drama Desk Nominee for Outstanding Music, Dave Malloy), Jaclyn Backhaus’ Folk Wandering (created with a team of nine singer songwriters, world premiere), and upcoming Kevin Armento, Jaki Bradley, and Marcus Miller’s Playing Hot (Spring 2019).

Pipeline Theatre Company is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.