Semicolon Theatre Company was founded by two high school-aged women in 2013 with the aim of creating a professional space where theatre artists and administrators aged twenty-one and under could hone their crafts, collaborate with like-minded peers, and develop artistic works relevant to their own lives. The idea was to create a professional experience for the youngest members of the theatre community who may not otherwise get to have one. That meant that our productions come along with a rigorous and intensive play selection, audition and rehearsal process. Furthermore, every artist and administrator was compensated fairly for their work, something that was pretty uncommon for companies of our size and scope.
Semicolon produced four consecutive seasons at reputable Off-Off Broadway theaters in Manhattan, such as the Wild Project, Teatro SEA through the New York International Fringe Festival, the Kraine Theater, and Access Theater. That included six productions, three staged readings, and one workshop, and has collaborated with a network of over 50 young artists, administrators, designers, and technicians over the course of five years.
In April 2020, Zoe and I (the founders), now both over the age of twenty-one, decided that it was time to close out Semicolon for good. We are so grateful to every person to cross our paths and spent time with the work we were creating in one way or another. Read our goodbye note below:
“Dear Friends, Supporters, Colleagues, and Artists:
It has been quite some time since we (Miranda and Zoe) have updated our Semicolon family. For the past couple of years following our production of May Treuhaft-Ali’s brilliant play Resistance, we have thought extensively about how to continue with our Semicolon mission. Our lives have changed, become busier, more complicated, and spread out. As such, we have decided to officially end our work with Semicolon Theatre Company.
We will always believe in what this company accomplished and stood for: empowerment of young artists and those underrepresented in the theatre world. Through our 4 years of productions, we collaborated with dozens of the most innovative, audacious, and spunky emerging theatre artists imaginable. We have had the honor of interacting with hundreds of audience members. We have produced 2 full-length plays (and many short plays) in 4 venues and one festival. All by, for, and about young people.
We could not have accomplished this work without your support: whether you attended our productions, contributed to our crowdfunding, or simply cheered us from afar. We look forward to sharing future collaborations between Zoe and Miranda and continuing our mission of supporting the next generation of bold theatre makers in new ways.
In this especially difficult and uncertain time, we hope that you all are staying healthy and safe. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
With much love,
Zoe and Miranda”