Playwright Horizons Introduces PLAYTIME!

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus; Managing Director) is pleased to announce the launch of PLAYTIME! at Playwrights Horizons, a brand new program offering affordable, professional childcare while you see a show. Playwrights Horizons has teamed up with Sitters Studio, a bonded and insured company made up of sitters who are working artists, which will provide and operate the program in Playwrights Horizons' very own building.
PLAYTIME! will debut during the run of the theater company's next production, KIN, the world premiere of a new play by Bathsheba Doran (Living Room in Africa, adaptation of Great Expectations at The Lortel). KIN is directed by Sam Gold (Circle Mirror Transformation at PH, Tigers Be Still, The Aliens, The Coward) and begins performances on Friday, February 25.
With PLAYTIME!, while patrons enjoy a Playwrights Horizons performance, their children will be upstairs in a rehearsal space having his or her own fun, artistic experience - learning a dance or song, making a craft project or participating in a myriad of other artistic activities provided by Sitters Studio. The program is available for children ages 4-12 (potty-training required). All Studio Sitters undergo background checks and are CPR certified.

PLAYTIME! is free to Playwrights Horizons subscribers and available to non-subscribers for a flat fee of only $15 per child. PLAYTIME! care will be offered during the following three performances of KIN:

Sunday matinee, February 27 at 2:30 PM
Sunday matinee, March 20 at 2:30 PM
Saturday matinee, April 2 at 2:30 PM

PLAYTIME! is the first program of its kind among New York City theaters.

"Playwrights Horizons is thrilled to be launching this new audience development program," said Managing Director Leslie Marcus. "The Combined cost of theater tickets and childcare is the factor most often cited by people with young children as the reason they rarely attend the theater. By offering affordable childcare during performances, we are responding to this concern and hope to welcome back these audiences. We are grateful to the Theater Subdistrict Council for making PLAYTIME! possible, and we look forward to serving arts-loving parents and children. Our hope is that this program will become a model for other performing arts organizations in New York."

For more information, visit the PLAYTIME! web page at www.playwrightshorizons.org/playtime.asp, or call Casey York at (212) 564-1235, ext. 3152. For additional information about Sitters Studio, please visit www.sittersstudio.com.

To book tickets to KIN and reserve your child's spot in the PLAYTIME! program, visit www.ticketcentral.com, or call Ticket Central daily from Noon to 8 PM at (212) 279-4200. You must reserve childcare at the time you book your performance tickets, and no fewer than 10 days prior to your desired performance.

Playwrights Horizons has also partnered with West Bank Café (located across the street at 407 West 42nd Street), which will be offering a special, affordable children's menu on the PLAYTIME! dates.
PLAYTIME! care will also be offered during select performances of Playwrights Horizons remaining two productions of the 2010/2011 Season:
GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE, the World Premiere of a new play by David Greenspan, directed by Leigh Silverman, beginning performances Thursday, March 24 at Playwrights Horizons Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD, the New York premiere of a new musical with book by Joy Gregory; music by Gunnar Madsen; lyrics by Ms. Gregory & Mr. Madsen; and story by Ms. Gregory, Mr. Madsen & John Langs; directed by Mr. Langs; beginning performances Thursday, May 12 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater.

The PLAYTIME! program is made possible with generous funds from the Theater Subdistrict Council (TSC). The TSC is a not-for-profit corporation established pursuant to a 1998 zoning rule that allows owners of landmarked Broadway theaters to transfer air rights within the Theater Subdistrict provided the theater is preserved, there is a commitment to use the space for legitimate theater use, and a portion of the proceeds are deposited into a Theater Subdistrict Fund designed to support the theater community. The TSC administers the Theater Subdistrict Fund, to allocate grants with the goal of developing new audiences, promoting the production of new theater work, and showcasing Broadway's singular role in the history of American theater. The TSC consists of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, three representatives appointed by the Mayor from the performing arts, theatrical and related industries, the Speaker of the Council and her designee, the Manhattan Borough President, and the Director of the Department of City Planning. The TSC is chaired by Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin, on behalf of Mayor Bloomberg.
Currently playing at Playwrights Horizons is the World Premiere of Adam Bock's A SMALL FIRE, directed by Trip Cullman. The production is playing at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater, where its limited engagement has been extended through Sunday, January 30.