Company type | Regional theater |
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Founded | 2000 |
Headquarters | 201 Clematis St., |
Key people | William Hayes (Producing Artistic Director) Sue Ellen Beryl (Managing Director) |
Website | Official website |
Palm Beach Dramaworks is a not-for-profit regional theater located in West Palm Beach, Florida. It has a 218 seat occupancy and produces original plays by playwrights that have included Terry Teachout, Lyle Kessler, Christopher Demos-Brown, and Jenny Connell Davis.
Palm Beach Dramaworks opened in 2000. The vision for the theater was conceived by William Hayes, Sue Ellen Beryl and Nanique Gheridian who wanted to bring a regional theater to West Palm Beach and provide opportunities for more Florida-based talent.[1][2] The theater began within Palm Beach Atlantic University with its performance of Greetings! by playwright Tom Dudzick. It moved to another location in West Palm Beach in 2003,[3] and held performances in a total of three prior locations before moving to the Cuillo Centre for the Arts in West Palm Beach in 2011.[4] After a capital campaign raising over 4 million dollars, the location went through a $2 million renovation and was named the Don & Ann Brown Theatre.[5]
In 2014, the theater opened the Dramaworkshop, a lab that provides resources and support for playwrights to develop scripts. One production released from Dramaworkshop was Lyle Kessler's House on Fire which premiered at the theater in 2019.[6] It also launched its play festival in 2019 (later named the Perlberg Festival of New Plays) which included four plays out of 300 submissions to the theater.[6] It named Jenny Connell Davis in 2023 as its first resident playwright.[7]
Since 2011, Palm Beach Dramaworks has operated on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach with 218 seat capacity.[8] The building is in a historic district and was originally the Florida Theatre which operated as a movie house from 1949 to 1981, thereafter operating as a stage and training theater prior to being purchased by Palm Beach Dramaworks.[9] Called one of the top ten regional theaters in the United States by The Wall Street Journal,[10] Palm Beach Dramaworks also offers educational programs for students and adults.[11]