The Refocus Project aims to transform the American theatre canon.
The works historically deemed “classics” were defined too narrowly and by too few. To have an equitable theatre, we believe we must take a new look at the past and elevate playwrights who were overlooked in their time, not because of their merits but because of their identities.
As a theatre company with a legacy of producing revivals, we launched The Refocus Project to expand our perspective to encompass some of these plays and playwrights. We began in 2021, producing three seasons of readings of works from the Black American, Latinx, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. In 2024 we produced Samm-Art Williams’s Home on Broadway, a piece that had been our very first reading in this initiative.
The Refocus Project SPOTLIGHT ARTISTS
The Refocus Spotlight Artists is the next phase of Roundabout's efforts to expand the American theatre canon. Building on the first three years of offering readings, this season Roundabout will concentrate on two artists, Migdalia Cruz and William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. This new approach will attempt to curate a deeper dive into the lives and careers of two artists of color whose names should be more familiar in American theatre history.
We will explore Cruz and Yellow Robe’s work through readings and panels and create an in-depth resource guides dedicated to the Spotlight Artists. These opportunities and resources will be shared with theatres, schools, and audiences both in NYC and nationwide, with the goal of encouraging more productions of their work and placement on theatre syllabi.
Please contact refocus@roundabouttheatre.org for further information on the available resources around these plays.
Leadership support for The Refocus Project is generously provided by the Ford Foundation.
Additional funding provided by Eugene and Joann Bissell and the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, R. Martin Chavez and by Bank of America.
The Refocus Project is made possible by the Champions for Inclusive Theatre and Roundabout’s Forward Fund. We acknowledge the generous friends who support our many efforts to increase representation and inclusion in all aspects of theatre: Elizabeth Armstrong, Bank of America, Eugene and Joann Bissell and the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, Kevin Brown, Barbara and Peter Bye, Ginger McKnight Chavers, Ford Foundation, Jill and Barry Lafer, Gina Maria Leonetti, Iva Mills, Beryl Snyder, Denise Littlefield Sobel, and Liz and Ken Whitney.