A Brief History of New Theatre

New Theatre has produced in Coral Gables a year-round season of plays since 1986, the year it was founded by husband and wife Rafael and Kimberly de Acha. In May 2006, New Theatre's Founding Artistic Director, Rafael de Acha retired after 20 years at the helm of the company. New Artistic Director Ricky J. Martinez joined by New Theatre's Managing Director of 10 years, Eileen Suarez will both honor the continued commitment to the South Florida community and its artists.

New Theatre's mission is evidenced by the theatre's repertory choices: an imaginative sampling of new works by American playwrights and classics. New Theatre produces plays that strive to keep listening for social/political themes; for issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion; for the immigrant experience; for stories from the heart and for the soul; for the representation of unheard American voices. Most significantly, New Theatre develops new plays by early and mid-career playwrights, staging many in their world premieres. New Theatre has commissioned and/or produced World Premieres of such notable works as Nilo Cruz's 2003 Pulitzer Prize and Steinberg award-winning play Anna in the Tropics, Shirley Lauro's Clarence Darrow's Last Trial, and Elaine Romero's Barrio Hollywood. New Theatre has also provided a home for World Premiere's of local professional playwrights Michael McKeever, Mario Diament, Dr. Richard Janaro, Alfred Allan Lewis, and David Caudle which later exhibit nationally and internationally. For the past twenty years, New Theatre has housed, in its modest hundred-seat theatre, over fifty world premieres, as many Florida premieres, and has cultivated an eclectic ever-growing audience, which includes students from the city's schools and universities.

New Theatre and its artists have received many honors and awards, including the Key to the City of Coral Gables, as well as several Carbonell awards from the South Florida Theater Critics Association, along with multiple nominations by Miami New Times in its Best of Miami issues. The Miami Herald and The Sun Sentinel have singled out New Theatre productions in their Best of the Year listings again and again. The company has been the recipient of funding from Theatre Communications Group, The City of Coral Gables, The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, The Division of Cultural Affairs of the State of Florida, and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Since its inception, New Theatre has been an invigorating part of South Florida's artistic community, with a clear commitment to stimulate, provoke, challenge and entertain its audiences, continuously reinforcing works and artists that reflect the astounding diversity of our multicultural region.