CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Borba and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, confirmed today that it will cancel its on-grounds programming for the summer 2020 season.

“The coronavirus has affected every one of our lives in big and small ways. A year ago when we programmed our 2020 Season we had no idea how the world would change,” Corporandy said. “While we lament not being with our Chautauqua Institution community on grounds, or hiring back our entire staff, we are looking forward to the challenges and successes of presenting theater in new and different ways.” 

CTC will pivot to online offerings, including virtual New Play Workshops, a “Virtual Porch” with Brown Bag Lunches and Cocktail Hours, and a fully unique Conservatory experience that highlights master classes on Shakespeare, Casting, Devising, Dialects and more. CTC will continue to champion its Young Playwrights in Chautauqua County by performing their works digitally in early June. 

“We remain committed to presenting new work by artistic visionaries in our industry and supporting the growth of their work however and wherever we are able to,” Borba said. “Great theater adapts to the time in which it is produced; I’m sure CTC will grow this summer in ways we never would have imagined.”

Please check theater.chq.org for the revised program schedule, which will be confirmed as quickly as possible. The Chautauqua Ticket Office will be in touch with patrons who have already purchased tickets to rescheduled and canceled performances to arrange for refunds, credits or donations according to patron preferences. 

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About Chautauqua Theater Company 

Entering its 38th season, Chautauqua Theater Company is the resident professional theater and Conservatory of Chautauqua Institution. Internationally known actors, directors, designers and writers join 19 emerging artists drawn from the nation’s top training programs to form a unique company that produces a vibrant summer of work in the historic Bratton Theater. Dedicated to the next generation of theater artists, the development of new work, first-rate productions of modern and contemporary classics, and fresh insight into Shakespeare’s canon, CTC produces the best of a year-round regional theater within an eight-week summer season.

About Chautauqua Institution 

The pre-eminent expression of lifelong learning in the United States, Chautauqua Institution comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. Over the course of nine weeks, more than 100,000 people visit Chautauqua and participate in programs, classes, and community events for all ages — all within the beautiful setting of a historic lakeside village. As a community, we celebrate, encourage, and study the arts and treat them as integral to all of learning, and we convene the critical conversations of the day to advance understanding through civil dialogue.