Roe Green Theater Center: A Centralized, State-of-the-Art Home for Chautauqua Theater Company
Designed to bring artists, students, staff and audiences together in one shared creative space, the Roe Green Theater Center marks a major investment in the future of theater at Chautauqua Institution. With the opening of the new Center, a bold new chapter begins for CTC, debuting with FutureNow New Play Lab 1: The Bone Wars at 6 p.m. Friday, July 10.
“The opening of the Roe Green Theater Center is a transformative moment for our artistic community,” said Senior Vice President Deborah Sunya Moore. “It will be a place where new ideas are imagined, shaped and shared — made possible by the remarkable generosity and vision of our donors.”
Our donors’ generosity and engagement have brought to life a center that will transform the lives of emerging artists and strengthen the arts in deeply meaningful ways. The Center brings every part of the creative process under one roof. This modern hub enables artists, staff, students and audiences to experience theater in a more connected, dynamic way. This extraordinary center will fuel new work, nurture emerging artists and strengthen CTC’s creative home.
A Catalyst for the Future of American Theater
CTC further deepens its commitment to new play development with the opening of the Roe Green Theater Center. This artistic home will allow for the addition of playwrighting fellows, flexible rehearsal spaces, and a state-of-the-art black box theater, solidifying CTC’s status as one of the nation’s premier accelerators of theater talent and new work. For the first time, CTC will produce eight new plays at various stages of development throughout the 2026 Summer Season with residencies, readings, staged workshops and the world premiere of Sharyn Rothstein’s Best for Baby.
As CTC Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll reflects, “This new center will offer an artistic home for our conservatory, the next generation of theater makers and our entire company, creating a hub for audiences to connect and see plays at every stage of development.”
The Center includes:
- The Michael E. Hill & Peter M. Korns Black Box Theater, offering flexible seating for new play development, innovative staging, cabaret performances and small-scale productions
- The Andrew L. & Gayle Shaw Camden Studio and the Jill & Arnold Bellowe White Box, two professional rehearsal studios that return much needed creative space to a centralized location for the first time since 2019
- Weatherized, year-round facilities supporting residencies, developmental work and off-season programming
- Dedicated writing space for playwrights and composers-in-residence
- Expanded offices, including the Friends of Chautauqua Theater Managing Director’s Office and the Janet & Av Posner Box Office, along with enhanced production facilities such as the Wendy & Edward Cohen & Family Prop Shop, a substantially upgraded workspace for scenic and production support
- Indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, including the Chez Amis lobby bar, invite audiences into the creative journey, from page to stage
Together with Bratton Theater, the Center forms a complete ecosystem for theatrical creation at Chautauqua — one that empowers CTC to serve as a national accelerator for emerging artists.
Powered by Transformative Philanthropy
The creation of this landmark facility is made possible through a visionary $4.5 million commitment from the Roe Green Foundation, consisting of a $3 million outright gift and a $1.5 million matching challenge. The project has drawn a total of $11 million in support.
This gift reflects Roe Green’s lifelong dedication to artistic engagement, education and the advancement of new work. An arts patron, executive and community leader who has shaped theater across the country through her support of students, emerging artists and innovative storytelling, Green has dedicated her philanthropic career to strengthening cultural institutions and supporting the next generation of artists.
At Chautauqua, her support has strengthened CTC’s New Play Workshop series, which has launched countless plays that went on to full productions around the country and even on Broadway — and now lays the foundation for a permanent, centralized home for CTC.
She is known for describing her approach to giving with characteristic clarity and generosity: “I have five oranges. I eat one, I save one, and I give the other three away.” This philosophy has guided a lifetime of support for students, emerging artists, and the institutions that nurture them.
In addition to Green’s extraordinary support, the Center was realized through pivotal leadership gifts from Bruce W. and Sarah Hagen McWilliams, Bill and Chloe Cornell, Jill and Arnold Bellowe, Andrew L. and Gayle Shaw Camden and many others. Chautauqua Institution is deeply grateful to all who have demonstrated a lasting commitment to theater and the performing arts for helping bring this long-held vision to life. At a time when public funding for the arts continues to face challenges, community support is more vital than ever. This vision would not have been possible without the extraordinary community of donors who believe in the power of artistic expression and its lasting impact.
Playwrights Find Home in CTC
“To have my musical developed in a community that I call home, full of people I call friend and neighbor, folks who get my art, is comforting and life-giving,” said Kwame Alexander, the original author of The Crossover. “Under the direction of Jade and CTC, The Crossover is not only in capable hands, it’s in loving hands, and that is all an artist ever truly wants: for their words, songs, visual melody to be carried in the hearts of others. Thank you!”
The world premiere of tiny father was co-produced by CTC and Barrington Stage. The play subsequently went on to be produced at Geffen Playhouse and published by Dramatists Play Services. Author Mike Lew said, “Premiering tiny father at Chautauqua was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. To create a new play amidst this dazzling array of fellow authors, artists, musicians and thought leaders truly pressed home for me that theater is a communal art form in dialogue with so many others and that it’s also a direct reflection of what’s going on in the world. I don’t think I’ll ever get to create work in a way that feels so present and connected as that.”
“It meant the world to be able to develop a new play in an idyllic space removed from all the pressure,” said Lauren Yee, award-winning playwright of CAMBODIAN ROCK BAND and the recent New York Times critic Pick MOTHER RUSSIA. “There’s something special going on at Chautauqua.”
Join Us in Shaping the Next Chapter
For more than 40 years since its founding by Artistic Director Michael Kahn, CTC has been a vital launchpad for the next generation of theater artists, bridging the gap between training and professional success. Under the leadership and creative direction of Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, CTC champions new voices in theater, serving as a national hub for commissioning, developing and producing works by both established and emerging American playwrights. When you give to the endowment for the Roe Green Theater Center and Chautauqua Theater Company, you become part of something that lasts far beyond a single season. Your generosity helps ensure that young artists have a place to learn, experiment and find their voices, and that audiences will continue to gather in spaces filled with curiosity, courage and shared imagination.
Your support ensures the Center is not just a building, but a living, breathing engine of creativity — one that will shape artists, stories, and audiences for generations on Chautauqua’s grounds and on stages across the country.
Your generosity fuels new work, nurtures emerging artists and strengthens CTC’s creative home.
Where New Voices Rise: Chautauqua Theater Company and the Future of American Theater
CTC champions new voices in theater, serving as a national hub for commissioning, developing, and producing works by both established and emerging American playwrights. One of its major achievements includes Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles, which was originally developed at CTC and later had a celebrated Broadway run.
In 2023, CTC co-produced the world premiere of Mike Lew’s tiny father with Barrington Stage. The following year, CTC’s commission of Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark was co-produced with Primary Stages in New York City. In 2025, C.A. Johnson’s The Witnesses, a CTC commission, received its world premiere in Chautauqua. Additional CTC-commissioned writers include Pulitzer Prize finalist Zora Howard, Newbery Medal and Emmy Award winner Kwame Alexander, Tony-nominated and Grammy Award winner Christopher Jackson, Steinberg Award winner Candrice Jones and Theresa Rebeck, the most produced woman on Broadway. Recently, CTC has nurtured the development of new plays by Chisa Hutchinson, Vichet Chum, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Harrison David Rivers, Hilary Bettis, James Anthony Tyler, Anna Ziegler and more.
This project was made possible by a remarkable community of supporters whose generosity reflects a shared belief in the power of theater and artistic expression. We are deeply grateful to all of our donors, whose commitment has helped bring the Roe Green Theater Center to life. Chautauqua Institution extends its heartfelt gratitude to all who made the this project possible, including the construction management team of Buffalo Construction Consulting (Steve Ginitti, Mark Ceppaglia, Rob Turnquist), DLR Architects (Paul Siemborski, Brant Miller, Enjio Dajka, Nathan Dregely) and Chautauqua Institution’s Campus Planning & Operations team including Jack Munella and Ryan Boughton, whose leadership and dedication were essential to ensure its thoughtful execution and completion. In addition, Emily Glinick and Jade King Carroll were instrumental to the success of this project, dedicating significant time and care in bringing the project to fruition.