The Dreamscape Theatre
History
The Dreamscape Theatre was founded in the summer of 2002 by a pair of directing students from New York University’s Playwrights Horizons Theater School. Co-founders Brad Raimondo and Gerritt Turner chose a highly ambitious project to inaugurate their new company: a full-scale production of “Macbeth,” one of Shakespeare’s greatest and most challenging tragedies. The production took place in August of 2002, in the cavernous Flamboyan Theatre on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Despite the project’s large cast and massive technical requirements, “Macbeth” was a success, consistently wowing the audiences who braved a record-breaking heat wave to come and witness the birth of a new theatre.
In the next year, “Macbeth” was followed by two more Dreamscape projects. Director Jennifer McGrath’s powerful production of the internationally acclaimed South African play “Woza Albert!” began a tour of tri-state area high schools that would eventually be seen by over two-thousand young people in New York and New Jersey. In the summer of 2003, co-founder Gerritt Turner directed Dreamscape’s second Shakespearean production: “The Merchant of Venice” starring Zack Calhoon (Dreamscape’s current General Manager) as Antonio.
2003 was an important year to Dreamscape for three key reasons. Most importantly, by producing a sophomore season with two productions rather than the single production of our inaugural season, we began an upward trajectory that continues to this day. Additionally, in 2003 the outstanding work done by the talented young directors of “Woza Albert!” and “The Merchant of Venice” helped us to clarify what we were all about as a company. This work was so important to us that it inspired Producing Artistic Director Brad Raimondo to discard the excessively broad mission statement with which Dreamscape had been founded and to declare our current mission of supporting the work of young and emerging directors. Finally, it was in the fall of 2003 that the Internal Revenue Service granted Dreamscape’s request for tax-exempt non-profit status. Our little company was now a fully formed 501(c)(3) corporation!
In 2004, Dreamscape produced “The Credeaux Canvas” by Keith Bunin, directed by Producing Artistic Director Brad Raimondo. Off-off-Broadway Review called the production “tense and effective” and raved about the awe-inspiring lighting design of Morgan Anne Zipf (Dreamscape’s current Head of Production). Also in 2004, Dreamscape honored a pair of fourth year directing students from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts by re-mounting their thesis projects of “Woyzeck” by George Buchner and Shakespeare’s “Othello.”
2005 was a banner year for Dreamscape. It was the year of our first annual festival season, featuring three mainstage productions which played on a rotating schedule for four weeks at Manhattan Theatre Source, just north of Washington Square. Entitled “A Season on the Edge,” this mini-festival featured productions of Sophie Treadwell’s “Machinal” directed by Morgan Anne Zipf (“Engrossing”—Off-off Online); “Hamlet” directed by Ross Williams and starring Zack Calhoon (“Masterful” –NYTheatre.com); and the world premiere of “Tiny Dynamite,” a new play by Richard Lovejoy directed by Brad Raimondo. This ambitious season was a runaway success, playing to sold out houses and bringing Dreamscape’s work to a wider audience than ever before. 2005 was also marked by the valuable additions of Morgan Anne Zipf and Zack Calhoon to Dreamscape’s permanent staff.
The Dreamscape Theatre has already amassed a great deal of history in its five-year existence. The nine successful projects we have produced to date serve as a source of great pride for all of our members, supporters and colleagues as well as a powerful inspiration to us all to do even bigger and better things in 2006.
In its five years of existence, Dreamscape has grown to include an ever-widening circle of artists, audience members and individual or corporate sponsors. Since “MACBETH,” we have presented eight additional projects, with six different directors. You can learn about the highlights of our four seasons and also view pictures on our SHOWS page.
Supporting the work of young and emerging directors.
Check out our 2006 Season & The Burning Cities Project!