founding artistic director
Adrian Hall.
(Al Alexio)
Trinity Repertory Company has been the cultural anchor of Providence’s Downcity district for over a quarter of a century. Could anyone imagine even the idea of an Arts and Entertainment District without Trinity? In 1973, businesses were closing down; the historic downtown core of Providence was on the verge of turning into a ghost town. Trinity Rep moved into the historic landmark Majestic Theater (now the Lederer Theater Center) and established a beachhead for what I am convinced will be one of the most glorious urban revivals in our country’s history.
As Rhode Island’s largest arts organization, we believe that a vibrant and varied arts scene makes our state a marvelous place to live and work. Trinity Rep’s artistic achievements are trumpeted constantly, but I’d like to talk about our impact on local commerce and the regional economy.
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Over 195,000 people come to Trinity Rep every year, and none of them sees a show without parking, eating, shopping or in some other way contributing to the retail economy around us. Our 130 employees live, pay taxes and spend money in the area. It has been estimated that Trinity Rep has an annual economic impact of over $24 million dollars.
We support Downcity and its arts community: countless theater companies, restaurants, garages and pubs wouldn’t be here without the personnel we train, the costumes and props we share with them, the audience we cultivate, the leadership we provide. Trinity Summer Shakespeare, which performs outdoors in Waterplace Park and throughout southern New England, brings lively productions of Shakespeare’s masterpieces to tens of thousands of people who wouldn’t normally go to the theater – free of charge.
And our plans for the future are even more exciting and ambitious: with the opening of our new Pell-Chafee Performance Center, we will be able to welcome up to 50,000 more Rhode Islanders every year. We will be able to more fully support and present the work of our fellow Rhode Island artists. We will be able to offer work that targets traditionally under-served communities, from the Spanish-speaking population to family audiences.
We are blessed with remarkable relationships with the corporate community. Our partnership with Fleet Bank (realized through Fleet Project Discovery, which has introduced over a million young people to theater in its thirty-year history) is a model of artistic/business cooperation. Metropolitan Life underwrites our Pay What You Can performances. Citizens Bank has donated the home for our new Pell-Chafee Performance Center.
Trinity Rep belongs to Rhode Island. A proud leader of the Providence Renaissance, we’ve brought national attention and community pride to Providence for over thirty-seven years. With the support of the business community, we hope to create even more wealth — cultural and monetary — in the years to come.
