HISTORY /
Since its founding in 2001, The Civilians has supported the creation of eleven original shows
—Canard, Canard, Goose?, The Ladies, Paris Commune, Gone Missing, Way to Go!, (I am) Nobody's Lunch, Shadow of Himself, This Beautiful City, In the Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards, Maple and Vine, and Tales from My Parents' Divorce. The Civilians' projects have been produced at numerous theaters in New York including The Public Theater and Vineyard Theatre; nationally at Center Theatre Group, A.R.T., La Jolla Playhouse, HBO's US Comedy Festival, Studio Theatre, and Actors Theatre of Louisville among others. Works by the company have toured extensively to arts presenters and festivals with presentations in over 40 cities nationally and internationally. The Civilians made its UK debut with Gone Missing in 2004 at the Gate Theatre, and (I Am) Nobody's Lunch was a Fringe First Award winner at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe leading to a London production at Soho Theatre.
The Civilians' commercial run of Gone Missing at the Barrow Street Theater ran for seven months and was included in several Top 10 of 2007 lists including critic Charles Isherwood's in The New York Times. The company's play investigating Evangelical Christianity in Colorado Springs, This Beautiful City, premiered at the Humana Festival, America's premiere showcase for new plays, followed by productions in D.C., Los Angeles and New York, where it received Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Drama Guild nominations. The company is presently developing new projects with artists including Artistic Director Steve Cosson, composers Michael Friedman and Kirsten Childs, director Anne Kauffman, and playwrights Jordan Harrison, Anne Washburn, Bess Wohl and Pulitzer Prize winning writer Lynn Nottage.
The company has created its work through residencies with institutions including The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Sundance Theatre Lab, The Orchard Project, Colorado College, Georgetown University, Princeton University and others. Director Steve Cosson and company members have taught workshops and master classes throughout the US, working with students from a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. The Civilians' work is published by Dramatists Play Service, Oberon Books, Ghostlight Records and a recent anthology by Playscripts, Inc.
