February 2, 2023 — New York Stage and Film (NYSAF) and Marist College announced today a dedicated, multi-year collaboration that will create significant new educational programs and experiential learning opportunities for Marist students while also enabling NYSAF to expand its year-round services for artists developing new work in theater, film and television in the Hudson Valley and New York City.

NYSAF was founded in 1985 and plays a vital role in helping emerging and established artists develop new plays, musicals, screenplays, and TV shows. The organization has been credited with the early-stage efforts that ultimately resulted in such Broadway hits as the Tony Award-winning Hamilton, Hadestown, and Doubt. In addition, NYSAF artists have contributed to Pulitzer-finalists such as The Wolves and A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, and Broadway musicals such as Head Over Heels and American Idiot.

Building upon NYSAF’s successful work with Marist during the past two years, this dynamic relationship will include hosting the return of NYSAF’s NYC-based Winter Season (February 27-March 5) at Marist’s Midtown Manhattan location and continue with NYSAF’s 2023 Summer Season to be held on the Marist Campus in Poughkeepsie (July 14-August 6), in which hundreds of artists will incubate new stories for the stage and screen through NYSAF’s celebrated residency and workshop programs. This collaboration also will expand the reach of popular public programs to benefit local communities served by both NYSAF and Marist College.

“On behalf of the hundreds of artists we serve each year, I am so glad to be extending and deepening our relationship with Marist,” said NYSAF Interim Artistic Director Liz Carlson. “We share a focus on community-building, on continuous learning, and on discovering unique and surprising ways to experience the world around us. To be able to invest in this work and serve our respective communities in a long-term sustained way, both in the Hudson Valley and New York City, is an exceptional opportunity for all of us.”

Photos by Buck Lewis Photography

New York Stage and Film’s mission is to create a nurturing environment for artistic process away from critical and commercial pressures, and it proudly collaborated with Vassar College to produce the summer Powerhouse Season in Poughkeepsie. Since 2021, NYSAF has been presenting programming at both Marist and Vassar to meet the evolving needs of its artistic community and to respond to logistical limitations during the COVID pandemic. The dedicated collaboration announced today between NYSAF and Marist builds upon the two organizations’ existing work together and will give a wider community of artists in both the Hudson Valley and NYC the space and resources to pursue their work throughout the calendar year.

“We are grateful for this expanded relationship with New York Stage and Film, which will provide a unique benefit to Marist College and our surrounding community,” said Marist Executive Vice President Geoffrey L. Brackett. “Our campus will play host to world class theater workshops and productions, Marist students in both Poughkeepsie and Manhattan will have the opportunity to apprentice and work with top leaders in theater and film, and young, aspiring artists will have access to amazing experiences through our summer pre-college programs for high school students.”

Marist will provide housing, rehearsal, and performances space for NYSAF’s year-round programming as well as specialized resources to support NYSAF’s Filmmakers’ Workshop and other programming. NYSAF will focus all of its Summer Season on Marist’s Poughkeepsie campus and will work with the College to lend professional expertise to its curricular programs. Students will benefit from year-round experiential learning opportunities and apprentice positions, and the School of Communication and the Arts and School of Liberal Arts will engage various student-centered clubs, organizations and other programs in practical work opportunities that support the collaboration, such as assisting with NYSAF marketing, PR and social media activities.

“NYSAF extends our heartfelt gratitude to our colleagues at Vassar for their support through many years of the Powerhouse Season,” said Board Chair Barbara Manocherian. “We are eager to build on our track record of curating exceptional stories and serving artists and audiences through our expanded relationship with Marist. They have been welcoming collaborators, excited to help envision unique ways to serve new work and provide a vital launch pad for new generations of artists.”