About Us

"Theatre Lab is one of the best things to ever happen to the Palm Beach County theater scene."

- Palm Beach Illustrated

 

Established in 2015, Theatre Lab is the professional resident company of Florida Atlantic University. Housed on the Boca Raton campus in its intimate 99-seat Heckscher Stage theatre space, Theatre Lab's mission to “inspire, develop, and produce new work, audiences, and artists” engages the South Florida community with world-class professional theatre performances, workshops, and conversations with leading playwrights and theatre artists. Our commitment to make great theatre accessible for everyone by providing our audience and community with an in-depth understanding of every aspect of new play development is highlighted by our dynamic programming each season.


Our Mainstage Series offers the highest-quality full professional productions of some of the most exciting and thought-provoking new work in American Theatre. As one of the only companies in South Florida dedicated to new work, we offer our audiences the opportunity to see regional and world premieres of contemporary plays that will become tomorrow’s classics.  

 
The Playwright’s Forum & MasterClass Series, welcomes some of the nation’s most notable playwrights, to share readings of their newest plays followed by a post-show discussion.  In addition, playwrights offer a 90-minute workshop designed to guide participants through the various stages of playwriting.  The New Play Festival is a jam-packed weekend featuring both emerging and acclaimed playwrights presenting readings of their newest work before it lands on stages across the country.


Our highly-successful educational outreach program, The Future PAGES Project is committed to the development of future Playwrights, Artists, & Generations of Exciting Storytellers by providing students in grades 3-12 the opportunity to share their voices and stories with the world. Partner schools are provided with two writing workshops and invited to a live-theatrical performance at Theatre Lab – all at NO COST to students or schools. A select number of students are then invited to work with the professionals at Theatre Lab to create an original show all their own!


With a focus on community engagement and by providing an artistic laboratory and a home for theatre artists to explore and develop new American plays, Theatre Lab has established FAU as a force in the national professional theatre movement.


Whether you are a lifelong theatre-goer or just looking for a fun evening out, there is always something exciting happening at The Lab. We hope to see you soon!

 

 

AWARDS

TOP TEN IN LOCAL THEATRE 2017, Most Wanted, Hap Erstein
Best Acting Ensemble 2017-18, The Revolutionists,  Palm Beach Florida Weekly

Best Creative Incubator, 2015 PBI Awards, Palm Beach Illustrated
Ten Best of 2016, This Random World, Palm Beach Arts Paper
5 “Not to Miss”, This Random World,  Palm Beach Post
Top 10 Theater in S. Florida, The Three Sisters of Weehawken, The Miami Herald

 

Remy Award for The 2023 Outstanding Behind the Scenes Contribution Award. Awarded to Joanna Orrego, Rose Figueroa, Cassie Kris, and Jill Carr.

Sliver Palm Award for Outstanding Contribution for the 2022-2023 Season. Awarded to Matt Stabile. 

Sliver Palm Award for Outstanding Contribution for the 2022-2023 Season. Awarded to Theatre Lab. 

2022 Carbonell's Bill Von Maurer Award, for excellence in all areas of programming. Awarded to Matt Stabile. 

Sliver Palm Award for Outstanding Community Efforts for Development of New Works: Heckscher Theatre for Families productions, Future PAGES Project and LabRATS educational programs, the New Play Festival, and the Fair Play Initiative for LGBTQ+ plays and stories  for the 2021-2022 Season. Awarded to Theatre Lab.

Sliver Palm Award for Outstanding Performance, To Fall in Love, Theatre Lab. Awarded to Niki Fridh. 

Sliver Palm Award for Outstanding Direction, Overactive Letdown, Theatre Lab. Awarded to Margaret Ledford. 

Sliver Palm Award for  Outstanding Intimacy Direction, To Fall in Love. Awarded to Nicole Perry. 

Sliver Palm Award for Outstanding Direction, To Fall In Love, Theatre Lab. Awarded to Louis Tyrrell. 

Remy Awards The 2020 Pioneer Award as part of the South Florida Theatre Community. Awarded to Matt Stabile. 

VISITING PLAYWRIGHTS

Nilo Cruz - Anna in the Tropics (Pulitzer Prize winner)
Marsha Norman - Night Mother (Pulitzer Prize winner), The Color Purple
John Guare - Six Degrees of Separation (Pulitzer Prize finalist), House of Blue Leaves
Christopher Demos-BrownAmerican Son (Broadway premiere 2018), Stripped
Deborah Zoe Laufer - Informed Consent , The Three Sisters of Weehawken, Be Here Now
Steven Dietz - This Random World (World Premiere at Humana Fest), one of the most produced regional playwrights in the USA
Michael McKeeverDaniel’s Husband (opening Off-Broadway Spring 2017)
Peter Sagal - Most Wanted & host of NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me…
Allison Gregory - Motherland, Wild Horses 
Jennifer Lane - Harlowe
Carter W. Lewis – Playwright in Residence at Washington University
Tammy RyanTar Beach
Ken WeitzmanHalftime with Don

Other Visiting Playwrights: Cliff Burgess, Wilkie Ferguson III, Vanessa Garcia, Michael Hollinger, Mildred Kayden, Carter W. Lewis, Michele Lowe, Gia Marotta, Gina Montet