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Prelude Festival 2024

The Segal Center: Bridging the gap between the academic, local and global performing arts communities through dynamic public programs and digital initiatives that are free and open to all.

Welcome to The Segal Center

The Segal Center bridges the gap between the academic and performing arts communities through dynamic public programs and digital initiatives that are free and open to all.

Home to theatre artists, scholars, students, performing arts managers, and the local and international performance communities, the Segal Center provides a supportive environment for conversation, open exchange, and the development of new ideas and new work. Year round, the Center presents a wide variety of FREE public programs which feature leading national and international artists, scholars, and arts professionals in conversation about theatre and performance. Programs include staged readings to further the development of new and classic plays, festivals celebrating New York performance (PRELUDE) and international plays (PEN World Voices), screenings of performance works on film, artists in conversation, academic lecture series, televised seminars, symposia, and arts in education programs. In addition, the Center maintains its long-standing visiting-scholars-from-abroad program, publishes a series of highly regarded academic journals, as well as single volumes of importance (including plays in translation), all written and edited by renowned scholars.

We livestream many of our events with Howlround. You can find the video archive here.

IN MEMORIAM
Martin E. Segal (1916-2012)
Daniel Gerould (1928-2012)

Explore our Work

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Sharings, discussions, readings and more, join our events in-person in New York or online via Howlround. Free entry!

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Our festivals provide a platform for artists, educators, cultural managers and others at the forefront of contemporary theatre practice.

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We support CUNY Graduate Center's top-ranked Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance in a myriad of ways.

Organized Files

Archive

Explore archival material, videos, interviews, essays, events and more from across 20 years of the Segal Center's history.

Vintage Bookstore

We support books, journals and other publications focused on contemporary theatre and performing arts.

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Get Involved

We would love to hear from you and how you'd like to contribute to our work.

Recent Initiatives

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Segal Talks

Tune in to Segal Talks, featuring conversations with artists all around the world. Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify

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Howlround for India

Watch a 24-hour online marathon of COVID talks with artists honoring the Indian theatre community.

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Segal Film Festival

Watch films on theatre and performance from over 30 countries, at the Segal Film Festival.

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NY Theatre Artists for Ukraine

Watch a 12-hour online marathon of readings and conversations with 24 New York theatre institutions and Ukrainian artists.

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