Theatre Lab at Florida Atlantic University Moves to New Home

Theatre Lab's Production of "The Impossible Task of Today" by Jeff Brower

The Theatre Lab at Florida Atlantic University has made its home in an unused cafeteria space in Parliament Hall, a dormitory for Florida Atlantic students, since 2015. But now with the full support of the Department of Theatre & Dance and the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Theatre Lab will produce out of the Marleen Forkas Studio One Theatre for the 2026-27 season.

"Florida Atlantic University is entering a period of incredible growth and looking ahead to an even brighter future," said FAU President Adam Hasner. "We recognize the undeniable benefits Theatre Lab has brought to our campus and students over their first decade. As we envision the future of the university and develop our new strategic plan, we look forward to working together to support the performing arts with state-of-the-art facilities in the years ahead."

Over the past decade, Theatre Lab presented more than 30 full productions and more than 100 developmental readings of new plays despite the obvious limitations of production in a space which was never designed to be a working theater. Over the next few seasons, Theatre Lab will share space with the Department of Theatre and Dance as a new permanent home is developed on the Boca Raton campus.

"Theatre Lab always understood that this was a temporary situation and that, as we grew along with the university, the time would eventually come to move operations to a more suitable facility," said Louis Tyrrell, founding director of Theatre Lab. "With the expansion of the east side of campus, including the construction of a new dormitory set to house more than 600 students, the need to accommodate student life - an absolute priority of any university - combined with Theatre Lab's own visions for the future, means the time for that change has come.

"This is an incredibly exciting step in our organization's growth. Theatre Lab will continue to provide a new play experience second-to-none alongside our robust educational outreach programming as we deepen our engagement with and provide even more opportunities for students to work with the professional resident company on campus."

Theatre Lab will also gain the equipment, facilities and audience capacity to further enhance the caliber and scope of their work.

"We are all deeply grateful for Theatre Lab's invaluable addition to our college and programs," said Michael Horswell, Ph.D., dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. "Their work here in our community and budding national reputation have also helped to raise the profile of our programs and we are very excited about the amazing opportunities this collaboration will generate."

This new space is a dream come true for many, especially students and staff that spend their time dedicated to the Theater Lab's productions.

"Theatre Lab faithful can expect a few minor adjustments to our standard season calendar, but our mission of inspiring, developing and producing new work and artists for the American theater remains unchanged," said Matt Stabile, producing artistic director. "Theatre Lab is as financially, culturally and artistically sound as ever and eagerly anticipating the wonderful opportunities ahead in this next stage of our existence. We look forward to expanding existing partnerships - including the continued growth of the annual Owl New Play Festival, presented in partnership with the Department of Theatre and Dance - and welcoming even more audience members to our productions as we continue to establish Theatre Lab and Florida Atlantic as the premiere location for new plays in the Southeast and eventually the nation."

Learn more at fau.edu/theatrelab

-FAU-