Prism Stage Company is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit theater company incorporated in the State of New York and currently working via Zoom with new play development and talent across the United States.

MISSION STATEMENT

Prism Stage Company seeks to engage audiences in works exploring what it is to be alive now by platforming playwrights, directors, and actors over 40, because “Talent has no expiration date.”

Where We Began

In 2010, director Benno Haenel and playwright Judith Estrine began a creative journey that culminated in the founding of Prism Stage Company three years later. The aim today is the same as it was then: to develop and produce new and overlooked plays by exciting playwrights over 40, performed by a majority of accomplished theater professionals primarily over 40, under the guidance of directors also over 40.

The Impact of COVID-19

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prism pivoted to Zoom-based new play development and staged readings. We’ve re-discovered acquaintances, friends, and creative family across the United States as a result. While the thrum and excitement of in-person experiences can never be replicated online, we continue to explore new-found connections available thanks to technology that unites rather than divides us, and consistently look forward to an ongoing hybrid of our two brave new worlds.

Why Age-Diversity Matters To Prism

As recently as 2020, more than half of the 6,000 global employers surveyed by AARP revealed that they do not include age in diversity and inclusion policies. For Prism, diverse backgrounds, designations, profiles, training, race and ethnicity are all included inside our lens-of-choice - artists over 40.

By 2022, more than one-third of the U.S. workforce will be over the age of 50. This challenges and excites our creative curiosity as we anticipate that the need to be seen and reflected through story and art will only increase.

The Great Opportunity Ahead

We continue to build on and expand the knowledge and wisdom of our over-40 talent base by cross-referencing the classics with exposure to new plays by writers over 40 - written from this time, for this time.

The limitations set by the need for safety practices has given us an opportunity to meet and contribute directly to the advancement of artists across the country, thanks to the technology of video conference calls. That said, we await - with bated breath! - a joyous and full return to in-person theatre and staged readings in New York City.

If you are interested in contributing to our effort in any of these arenas, please reach out via email to prismstagecompany@gmail.com. We’ll reach out as soon as we can. Thank you, and be well!

Judith Estrine, Executive & Artistic Director

Judith Estrine is an author and award-winning playwright. Pinochle and Roses was a teleplay semi-finalist in the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and was subsequently produced at The Vital Theatre in New York. She & He won first place in the Nantucket Short Play Festival. It became part of a national tour of six short plays, and became a film starring Anita Gillette. Other plays include award winning Ghost Mommy (Out On The Edge Festival awardee) about a lesbian couple in 1970s Brooklyn and Poppa’s Girls, a black comedy about an unusual family returning home for a reading of their father's Will. Judith co-authored Raised By The Church (Fordham University Press) and Midlife: A Manual (Element Books).

In 2012, believing that talent has no expiration date, she and director Benno Haenel became Founding Artistic Directors of Prism Stage Company.

Judith is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.

Zillah Glory, Associate Artistic Director

Zillah works with artists from all points-of-entry as a coach, developer, director, and creative partner by educating and co-creating routines and access to the materials, technological tools, and platforms needed for growth.

She is an AEA and SAG-AFTRA actress & voiceover artist, an acting & practice coach for Tim Phillips Studio, the Director of Communications & Operations Manager of a behavioral health consulting agency, a freelance creative project developer for solo entrepreneurs, and a private acting coach for artists who prefer intimacy, depth, and challenge.

She has trained and taught in improv (Keith Johnstone crossed with Theatre Sports) and co-authored 8 winning grants dedicated to supporting at-risk youth into health and wellness via the creative arts.

“Great stories make great people. The insight, personal experience, and depth of knowledge that actors, artists, and creators bring to the cultural arena as we age is of incredible value.”