We are called The Present Company because:

• We believe that a theatre must be present within its community
• We believe that when artists and audience gather
  they become the present company
• We produce work that is current, from the present day
• We have been influenced by “The Presence of the Actor”
  by Joseph Chaikin

Now in our 17th year, we continue to act as a resource center and advocate for indie theatre. We believe that as the artists of off-off Broadway, we are called to create, develop and produce new American theatre. Unbound by the constraints of larger institutions, we allow ourselves to approach each new theatre piece individually - constantly evaluating the way in which a project wants to be created, developed and produced. We challenge ourselves to discover the group of theatre-makers, timeline, production scale and venue which best serve each new undertaking.

We created and produce The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC), which has become the largest multi-arts festival in North America. Each August we bring together 200 companies from around the world to present nearly 1,300 performances over 16 days in 20 theatres in downtown Manhattan. Forged on the off-off Broadway tradition of self-sufficiency and creativity, the festival is an annual celebration of downtown theatre and an opportunity to introduce the vibrancy, diversity and innovation of off-off Broadway to a larger audience.

We believe in taking care of people, and in taking care of each other. We believe that sharing a meal together is a good thing. We believe that theatre can create community. We believe in responding and reacting to current issues. We believe in maintaining a personal relationship with our audience. We are advocates for artists, whom we respect and celebrate. We are entrepreneurial. We believe the time is now. We believe that talking about what we believe is important, and we seek out opportunities to do so. We are The Present Company.