5th Floor Theatre – originally named 5th Floor Productions – was conceived and launched in early 2008 by recent college graduates working full-time in the fields of finance, law, and film and theatre production.
The idea was to offer a “drama club” experience for young professionals, particularly those not pursuing careers in theatre but nonetheless possessing the talent and passion for the performing arts. The company’s first production was Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, contemporized to the present-day both for ease and cost-effectiveness. Despite the limited size of the sixty-five seat house, and the modest ticket sales as a result, the show exceeded the norm for the West Village venue, leading the proprietors to request an extension of our production and to offer assistance raising funds for outstanding legal fees. While declining an extension for logistical reasons, 5th Floor thought the interest generated from this first run suggested a greater drawing power than expected.
With revenue earned from ticket sales, 5th Floor decided to produce its first musical, the contemporary See What I Wanna See. The group moved to a larger venue with a capacity of approximately 100 seats, as suggested by its rigorous budget modeling. With higher production costs came the need to sell a greater number of tickets and an incentive to ensure continued growth. That growth was intended to fund the founding of a not-for-profit organization.
The production fell short of that ambitious goal, and 5th Floor returned to straight plays, choosing Dog Sees God in Fall 2009. It was made evident during this season that 5th Floor’s core constituency was not young professionals merely seeking an avocational drama club, but aspiring professional performers in need of opportunities and resources. This continued through the company’s next four productions between 2010 and 2014 – the full-length musicals Urinetown, Assassins, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and Debbie Does Dallas the Musical. Over the years, 5th Floor has consistently attracted young non-union performers who possess great talent and professionalism, but who, oftentimes, have recently moved to New York City and struggle to find on-stage opportunities without either previous New York City credits or union status.
Our organization’s efforts culminated in a Fall 2015 production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, under the company’s rebranding as 5th Floor Theatre. The show created a whirlwind of publicity—its six scheduled performances sold out in a matter of days. 5th Floor Theatre continued to produce more shows in NYC, including favorites such as Dogfight in 2017, and a production of Spelling Bee in 2018 that garnered two Independent Theater Award nominations and one win. Productions of Bubble Boy in 2018, as well as Farragut North in 2019 soon followed. Since its inception, 5th Floor Theatre has sold over 4,000 tickets and supported the career growth of over 250 artists—several of whom have gone on to perform on Broadway.
It is this combination of factors – a strong history, sound financial planning, and a firm sense of its core constituency of young professionals and aspiring performers – that brings 5th Floor to this current moment. Having felt the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic as it swept through the entire theater industry, 5th Floor Theatre aims to combine its brand recognition earned since 2008 with our newly honed mission to reduce financial barriers for artists by introducing our Groundbreaker Grants program, and providing initial and/or ongoing support to individuals and teams who are working to develop their artistic voices in New York City theatre.
