Stargate Theatre

Stargate Theatre is MTC Education’s “theatre company within a theatre company.”

Stargate Theatre hires eligible young people ages 17-26 to create and perform an original play. Led by artistic professionals, they explore the world in which they live and reflect it on the stage. Over the course of two months, in addition to developing valuable skills transferable to any workplace, the company members become an ensemble pursuing a common goal: creating a theatre piece that celebrates and honors the diversity of lived experiences in New York City.

Stargate Theatre’s summer ensemble is named the Sharon Sullivan Company in honor of a generous long-term gift made by former MTC Board Member Sharon Sullivan and her husband Jeffrey B. Kindler.

STARGATE THEATRE IS ON HIATUS UNTIL SUMMER 2024.

Click here to read about the 2019 production of Sweetwater in American Theatre.

Haga clic aquí para ver “La compañía teatral en Nueva York que ayuda a jóvenes latinos de bajos recursos” por Univision.

Program Eligibility

Stargate Theatre requires prospective participants to self-identify according to one or more of the below eligibility criteria.

  • Currently or previously involved with the justice system (may include arrests, detention, alternatives to incarceration, or incarceration)
  • Currently or previously being involved with foster care
  • Currently or previously experiencing poverty
  • Currently living in a New York City neighborhood experiencing high levels of poverty or crime
  • Currently or recently experiencing housing insecurity
  • Currently or previously disengaged from education (may include dropping out of high school, history of truancy, frequent school transitions)
  • Having an immediate family member who has been or is currently incarcerated

Prospective participants must be authorized to work in the United States according to the requirements of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Please refer to page three of the I-9 Form for acceptable documentation demonstrating work authorization.

It is also required that prospective participants have received the primary series vaccination against COVID-19. This may include: one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna Bivalent vaccine, two doses of the original Pfizer or Moderna monovalent vaccine, two doses of the Novavax vaccine, or one dose of the Janssen vaccine. Proof of vaccination will be required at the time of hire.

Throughout the rehearsal process, all company members and staff will be required to take a COVID-19 rapid antigen test twice per week in the rehearsal room. Testing is provided by MTC at no charge to participants or staff.

We will publish recruitment information for the Summer 2024 project in April 2024.

Learn More about Youth Justice

Learn more about the juvenile justice system in this conversation with Judy Tate, Stargate Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director, and Evan Elkin, Executive Director of Reclaiming Futures and a Co-Founder of Stargate Theatre.

Stargate Theatre company members are referred to us through a network of community-based organizations and government agencies. Stargate Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director Judy Tate speaks with Mike Pope, Executive Director of Youth Represent, to learn about their work.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GIVE 18 YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM 7 WEEKS TO CREATE THEIR OWN OFF-BROADWAY SHOW?

Watch Stargate Theatre: A Defining Act (a feature-length documentary from WLIW) to find out:

Previous Productions

APOCALYPSO (2021)

Apocalypso played at New York City Center Stage I on November 12-13, 2021. Judy Tate was the project’s Artistic Director and Shaun Peknic was the Production Director. Marilyn Torres was the Assistant Artistic Director and Camille Thomas was the Program Associate. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager. Giselle Raphaela was the Stage Manager.

Watch highlights from Apocalypso:

THE DIVIDE (2020)

The Divide premiered on YouTube on September 10, 2020. Judy Tate was the project’s Artistic Director and Production Director. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager. Simone Barros was the Artistic and Documentation Associate.

Watch The Divide:

SWEETWATER (2019)

So I was talking to this older cat, right? Tellin’ him I was about to leave and get on with my life. And he started telling me about Nigerian Goddess of the Sweet Water, Oshun…

Sweetwater played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 14-16, 2019. Judy Tate was the project’s Artistic Director and Shaun Peknic was the Production Director. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager and Oona Newman was the Production Stage Manager. Simone Barros was the Artistic and Documentation Associate. Camille Thomas was the Stargate Theatre Intern.

Watch the highlights of Sweetwater:

FIVE HOODS (2018)

Someone saying ‘You can’t’ isn’t my end, it’s my start.

Five Hoods played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 22-24, 2018. Judy Tate was the project’s Artistic Director and Andy Goldberg was the Production Director. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager and Oona Newman was the Production Stage Manager. Simone Barros was the Artistic and Documentation Associate. Irving Torres-Lopez was the Stargate Theatre Intern.

Watch the highlights of Five Hoods:

5 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT (2017)

Being a man is understanding life has no playback button to turn back time, to fix a mistake.

5 Minutes to Midnight played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 18-19, 2017. Judy Tate and Stephen DiMenna were Co-Artistic Directors. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager and Molly Eustis was the Production Supervisor. Simone Barros was the Artistic and Documentation Associate. Ali Jamali was the Stargate Theatre Intern.

Watch the highlights of 5 Minutes to Midnight:

Crash. Burn. Rise (2016)

I am a shooting star ready to shine bright. I feel no darkness, I only see the light.

Crash. Burn. Rise. played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 20, 2016. Judy Tate and Stephen DiMenna were Co-Artistic Directors. Elise Santora was the choreographer. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager and Belynda Fay Hardin was the Production Stage Manager. Simone Barros was the Artistic and Documentation Assistant. Emily Quartarone was the Stargate Theatre Intern.

Watch the highlights of Crash. Burn. Rise.:

DEEPER THAN SKIN (2015)

The sound of midnight in the city: bottles cracking, tires screeching, people laughing from a distance. I hear the sounds of a newborn crying, the kiss of a couple walking down the block holding hands. I am the sound of midnight in the city.

Deeper Than Skin played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 22, 2015. Judy Tate and Stephen DiMenna were Co-Artistic Directors. Elise Santora was the choreographer. Paul Gutkowski was the Company Manager and Stacy Waring was the Production Stage Manager. Eric Szkarlat was the Stargate Theatre Intern.

Click here to watch the full performance of Deeper Than Skin.

WEATHERING THE STORM (2014)

I hear a voice telling me there is power in my words.

Weathering the Storm played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 16, 2014. Judy Tate and Stephen DiMenna were Co-Artistic Directors. Elise Santora was the choreographer. Paul Auerbach was the Company Manager.

BEHIND MY EYES (2013)

I’m tired of being called a lowlife because I was incarcerated… I want to be called a sophisticated intellectual and for people to recognize me for my effort.

Stargate Theatre’s inaugural production, Behind My Eyes, played at New York City Center, Stage II on August 24, 2013. Judy Tate and Stephen DiMenna were Co-Artistic Directors. Elise Santora was the choreographer. Paul Auerbach was the Company Manager.

Referring Organizations

We wish to acknowledge and thank the numerous agencies and organizations who have referred individuals to Stargate Theatre:

BronxWorks, Bronx Connect, Broome Street Academy, CASES, Center for Community Alternatives, Esperanza N.Y., The Fortune Society, Friends of Island Academy, Getting Out and Staying Out, Hudson Guild, Judith S. Kaye High School, LaGuardia Justice Community Program, The Legal Aid Society, Manhattan Pathways to Graduation, New York City Department of Probation, Queens Courthouse Diversion Program, ReStart Academy, Save Our Streets, and Youth Represent.

Co-Founders

DAVID SHOOKHOFF

As Education Director of Manhattan Theatre Club since 1988, David Shookhoff has designed and implemented a multi-faceted program that annually serves 3,000 teenagers and adults. A leader in the field of arts education and a teaching artist for forty years, Mr. Shookhoff was the founding chair of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Arts Education, has chaired the Arts-in-Education Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, and has been a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts. He has been an educational consultant to the Lincoln Center Institute, the Theatre Development Fund and many other arts organization in New York and around the country. He has directed numerous theatre and opera productions in New York City and nationwide and has taught acting, directing and arts education courses at a variety of colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Sarah Lawrence, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia Teachers College, City College of New York and the Mannes School of Music. He holds a BA from Stanford University and an MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama.

JUDY TATE

Judy Tate is a four-time Emmy Award winning writer and WGA award recipient, having written scripts and story for Another WorldAs the World Turns and Days of Our Lives. She was a Manhattan Theatre Club Playwriting Fellow, winner of the New Professional Theatre’s Playwriting award, member of Playwrights Horizons’ Black Ink, the Women’s Project and Ensemble Studio Theatre. Her plays have been developed, presented and produced by numerous companies, including the Lark Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre and Playwrights Horizons. She’s a co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of The American Slavery Project and conceived their first original work, Unheard Voices, a collectively written monologue piece honoring the anonymous men, women and children slaves, indentured servants and free people who lived in colonial New York and are buried in the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan. A professional actor, Judy has worked in major professional theatres throughout the United States and in Southern Africa. She has served as a teaching artist for Manhattan Theatre Club, TDF, The American Slavery Project, International Theatre and Literacy Project, City Lights and Lincoln Center Institute among others and has taught kids in schools, shelters, prisons, townships and from reservations. An alumna of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts conservatory program, she studied with Stella Adler, was an honors graduate receiving the Founder’s Day Award, Seidman Award and Beinecke Award for excellence in acting and academia.

EVAN ELKIN

CO-FOUNDER

Evan Elkin is a nationally respected innovator and leader in the field of juvenile justice, child welfare reform, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and youth development. Evan originally trained as a psychologist at New York University and as a researcher at the New York Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University’s Department of Child Psychiatry. His work has been at the intersection of public health and social justice, focusing on the nation’s most vulnerable populations. Most recently Evan served as the Director of the Department of Planning and Government Innovation for the Vera Institute of Justice and was a member of the senior management team. He also oversaw Vera’s work in the area of Child Welfare and Justice and served as Project Director for two successful demonstration projects. For more than a decade, Evan has been a technical advisor in the government and non-profit sectors on policy strategy, program development, evaluation and training and was the treatment model developer for the Vera Institute’s acclaimed Adolescent Portable Therapy program. He has served as a consultant in the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Evan is currently the National Executive Director of Reclaiming Futures, an organizations that promotes new standards of care and opportunities in juvenile justice.

Videography and editing of highlights from Apocalypso by Craig T. Williams/Red Wall Productions.
Videography and editing of highlights from Sweetwater, Five Hoods, 5 Minutes to Midnight, and Crash. Burn. Rise. by Simone Barros/Stochastic Artworks.
Videography of Deeper Than Skin by Mad Hatter Media Group.
Photos by Bowen Fernie and MTC Education Staff.