Mission

A HOME FOR STORYTELLERS. A SPACE FOR ALL. Signature Theatre offers a deep dive into a playwright’s body of work for theatregoers seeking intimate human connection and extraordinary cultural experiences.

HISTORY AND VISION

Signature Theatre is an artistic home for storytellers. Founded in 1991 in New York City by Jim Houghton as a theater devoted to artists across their bodies of work, Signature deepens the relationship between artists and audiences alike through their groundbreaking, and ever-evolving, residency and producing model that amplifies the resonances between an artist’s works. 

Now under the leadership of Artistic Director Emily Shooltz and Executive Director Timothy J. McClimon, the organization continues to extend residencies to both playwrights and other visionary generative theater artists. Signature makes a singular—and extremely rare, in the theater world—commitment to its diverse cohort of Resident Artists by saying “yes” upfront to at least three productions. At Signature, it’s the storyteller who drives the conversation. That trust, in turn, yields incredible results from artists who are free to take chances and uncover new terrain in their work, while Signature provides holistic creative and professional support.

Signature audiences have gotten deep dives into the distinct visions of recent Resident Artists including Stephen Adly Guirgis, David Henry Hwang, Samuel D. Hunter, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Tony Kushner, Lynn Nottage, Anna Deavere Smith, Dave Malloy, Dominique Morisseau, Sarah Ruhl, Lauren Yee, and others; in 2025, the theater welcomed its newest resident, Heather Christian. Signature and its artists have been recognized with Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, MacArthur “Genius” grants, and Lucille Lortel, Obie, Drama Desk, AUDELCO, and Artios Awards as well as the 50/50 Award for Gender Parity in Theatre, among many other distinctions. In 2014, Signature became the first New York City theater to receive the Regional Theatre Tony Award for its body of work and accomplishments as an institution.

By both supporting the development of new works and allowing artists to revisit previous work with fresh eyes, Signature residencies are tailored to artists needs and career trajectories, helping them to make lasting contributions to the American theatrical canon. Additionally, by building out  its Launchpad Residency (supporting early career artists) and Legacy Lab (a development lab for  alumni residents), the organization seeks to foster a multigenerational artistic community. In the words of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, “there is nowhere like [Signature] for a playwright to grow, experiment, and create.”

Signature’s devotion to its audiences is as strong as to its artists: the organization believes every New Yorker should have access to theater, and counteracts the trend of increasingly prohibitive ticket costs throughout the city with Signature Access, its robust ticket subsidy and community outreach program, made possible in part by Lead Partner Pershing Square Philanthropies. The program democratizes access to the arts and provides tickets at affordable rates for all audiences, with tickets starting at $20 for students, $30 for audiences under 30, and $40 for a range of other demographics for every Signature production.

In 2012, Signature Theatre moved into a permanent home: The Pershing Square Signature Center, the capacious and dynamic three-theater facility on West 42nd designed by Frank Gehry Architects. The Center supports and encourages collaboration and cross-pollination among artists, cultural organizations, and local communities, and serves as a meeting place and watering hole for the larger theater community. 

In 2025, in anticipation of its 35th Anniversary Season, the organization made a bold move to accelerate further evolution, introducing a vision for its present and future with its $10 million Next Act Campaign. This plan ensures the organization stability and sustainability; embraces and evolves its residency model (including a return to presenting artists’ works in closer succession—nodding to the founding model of seasons devoted to single playwrights); introduces the Legacy Lab and expands its Launchpad program to multiple writers; and rethinks the identity of the Signature Center as a multi-company Off-Broadway complex, exploring ways to collaborate and thrive alongside other organizations.