PUBLIC WORKS
PUBLIC WORKS, a major civic artistic program of The Public Theater, aims to restore and build community by connecting people through the creation of extraordinary works of art. Working with partner organizations in all five boroughs, Public Works invites community members to take classes, participate in programming, attend performances, and join in the creation of ambitious works of participatory theater. Public Works deliberately blurs the line between professional artists and community members, creating theater that is not only for the people, but by and of the people as well. Public Works seeks to create a space where we can not only reflect on the world as it is, but where we can propose new possibilities for what our society might be.
A documentary created with Art Docs focusing on the 2017 Public Works production of AS YOU LIKE IT. Performed by 200 New Yorkers of all ages and boroughs. Co-adapted by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery, music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, original choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and direction by Laurie Woolery. The production was set to remount in 2020 but halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This film tracks the creation of the show and how this resilient community banded together amidst the crises of 2020.
On August 12, 2024, 1,200 New Yorkers gathered in Central Park for LET'S HEAR IT FOR NEW YORK! AN UNFORGETTABLE DANCE EXPERIENCE, organized by The Public Theater's Public Works program. Participants of all ages and backgrounds learned choreography to Alicia Keys' EMPIRE STATE OF MIND from the Broadway show HELL'S KITCHEN. The city-wide initiative by four-time Tony-nominated director/choreographer Camille A. Brown and her organization Every Body Move, and co-directed by Brown and Public Works’ Laurie Woolery.
April 2024. PUBLIC STORIES, a performance series created and directed by Julian Goldhagen, showcases the true, personal stories of New Yorkers from across the city. Featuring members of the Public Works community, each performance draws on various narrative forms and weaves together stories around a common theme. Public Stories is an expression of the Public Theater's mission to create performance that is OF, BY, and FOR the people of New York City.
November 2020. THE SEED PROJECT is an ambitious work of collaborative and participatory art across the nation. Community members from the Public Works National Partners and Affiliates are responding to the prompt: 'Today, I am planting a seed of ...' These offerings for the future are being turned into large-scale pieces of public art. In New York, Public Works has collected responses from 150 community members and used them to create a large-scale projection to cover the entire facade of 425 Lafayette.
Featuring videos highlighting more than 10 years of PUBLIC WORKS. Check out highlights from past productions, behind-the-scenes looks at projects and classes, and filmed discussions and panels that emphasize the many ways PUBLIC WORKS builds community and connects people through theater.
Upcoming Productions
Public Works' PUBLIC RECORD
Written by Lisa Sanaye Dring
Based on the Concept and Creative Direction by Emily Lim and Dan Canham, Musical Supervision and Songs by Ross Millard, and Words by Stewart Pringle
Music Supervision by Michael Thurber
Co-Directed and Choreographed by Dan Canham
Directed by Emily Lim
The Delacorte Theater
September 4-8, 2026
New Yorkers from all five boroughs are coming together to create a live album—on stage, in real time. PUBLIC RECORD, based on a concept by Dan Canham and Emily Lim, brings Public Works community members, musicians, and dancers into a cast of over 100 to capture how our city sings, moves, and tells its story in this moment. Written by Lisa Sanaye Dring, with music by Michael Thurber, direction by Emily Lim, and co-direction and choreography by Dan Canham, this electrifying new production stands as an act of collective hope, joy, and resistance. The album will be preserved by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts forever, ensuring that long after summer fades, it will remain a powerful reminder that the true record of a city isn’t just its headlines—it’s the sound of neighbors standing side by side.
WHO WE ARE
Community partnership is the foundation of Public Works. We collaborate with eight partner organizations across New York City.
WHAT WE DO
In New York City
Between our annual productions, Public Works builds relationships with community members through year-round programming throughout the city designed in collaboration with our local partner organizations.
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We offer CLASSES at our community partner organizations and at The Public, taught by teaching artists and tailor-made to serve the artistic interest of each community.
- Monthly POTLUCKS give us all an opportunity to share a meal, celebrate our achievements and present the creative projects people have been working on throughout the year.
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Programming also includes a community choir, attending plays, member-run leadership committees, and Public Stories, an initiative centering oral personal storytelling directly from our community's experience.
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All this programming culminates in ambitious participatory theater PRODUCTIONS. Once a year, our vast community comes together to create an extraordinary, large-scale production.
As You Like It, 2022 Photo credit: Jennifer Young
The Winter's Tale, Dallas Theater Center, 2018. Photo credit: Kim Leeson
Across the Country and Around the World
Public Works shares resources with theaters across the country and world to help build momentum around community-based theater nationwide. Collectively, we are seeking to put theater at the heart of every community, and community at the heart of every theater.
We have been in partnership with: Dallas Theater Center's Public Works Dallas (Dallas, TX), the National Theatre's Public Acts (London and nationally, England), Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle, WA), Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT), National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts - Weiwuying (Kaohsiung, Taiwan), Philadelphia Theatre Company (Philadelphia, PA), Pittsburgh Public Theater (Pittsburgh, PA), Theatre Under The Stars (Houston, TX), and Trinity Repertory Company (Providence, RI) among many others.
Leadership support for Public Works is provided by the Abrams Foundation and the Eisner Foundation. Generous support for Public Works is provided by Jody & John Arnhold, the Endeavor Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the One World Fund, Select Equity Group, The SHS Foundation, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Susan & David Viniar, the Whiting Foundation, and Felice Zwas & Sarah Gallen. Special thanks to the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation and the Venable Foundation.
Header Photo: Vivian Jett Brown and Jo Lampert (front) with the community ensemble in Public Works’ musical adaptation of The Tempest, directed by Laurie Woolery, with music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez, and choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher. Photo credit: Joan Marcus.