Our History
In 2013, following an artist retreat at The Abingdon Theatre’s home on 36 and 8th avenue (now The Tank), Jan Butram, the founder and then Artistic Director asked Hazen Cuyler to create a non-union resident acting company for The Abingdon. He was studying at HB Studio under Austin Pendleton and Aleksey Burago and wanted to incorporate their principles- that by working in a positive, judgment-free environment, artists could create their best work. The Greenhouse Ensemble then became a fertile environment where artists, their work, and audiences could grow. “Ensemble” was critical because it eliminated a hierarchy. Theatre is a collaboration, guided by each member, like a family. A true ensemble is founded on support and recognizes that there are no small parts and everyone is prepared to lead a show.
Returning to the Abingdon with a massive proposal, it was quickly recognized that the Off-Broadway theater could not support the scale of what Greenhouse hoped to achieve. Greenhouse moved on and searched for a home and quickly landed at the second floor of a traditional irish pub called Quinn’s Bar and Grill. It was located at 44th and 9th Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan. We threw our first Art Party and mounted our first production, 44th and 9th, written by Christy Hall. In the beginning of that play, a girl named “Girlie” takes a cab from newark to a bar at 44th and 9th. Throughout the car ride, she forms a complex bond with the cab driver as she grapples with an extramarital affair. More than a decade later, Christy would move to Hollywood, expand that play into the screenplay Daddio and direct Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson in those roles.
We moved out of the bar when we found our next home on the Upper West Side, the Franciscan Community Center. This is where we really took off as a company. God, Sex, and Getting Even by Frank Tangredi became our first full scale production. We followed that with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea directed by Austin Pendleton, many other productions, several Art Parties, classes and much more. Our 10 Minute Play Soiree was launched here which expanded our community drastically. We swept the award ceremony for the LIC One Act Festival with our production of The Unspeakable Passion of Mitch Devoe, beating out more than 50 other productions. We expanded to short films, immersive art installations, improvisation shows, community events, pop up art markets, music events, and more.
At the start of the pandemic, we created Lifestyle Content, jumping into zoom filmmaking immediately- we began rehearsals in March and shot the film in May. We followed that with our Quarantein Soiree, where we challenged filmmakers and theater artists from around the world to create a “zoom film”. We worked with the filmmakers to create fully-realized, live, productions with camera movements, dynamic lighting, effects, camera angles, costumes and live-editing. The weekly series lasted for 33 weeks and forged a network of international artists.
We closed the pandemic with Twelfth Night. Our first production back, performing live in Central Park and the Westside Community Garden. We were nominated for a New York Shakespeare Award and a documentary was created to capture our process and the reemergance of live theatre.
Following the pandemic we bounced around to several venues. Goddard Riverside’s community arts program was an important anchor for our community. We produced Frank Tangredi’s Muse at the Tank. And now we have landed at our most important home, and the one we hope will be our last, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. It’s here where our story will continue.
Together with St. Michael’s, we will work to enact change in our UWS community by providing audiences with the highest value of art from independent artists throughout every discipline. Greenhouse is a place for growing art, artists, and audiences and we hope you will join us on this journey.
Our Mission
Hazen Cuyler
Artistic Director And Founder
Hazen Cuyler is the founder and Artistic Director of The Greenhouse Ensemble. He has directed many productions for Greenhouse including Fahrenheit 451; Muse; Twelfth Night; Romeo and Juliet; House of Yes; A Painted Window; God, Sex, and Getting Even; Dads, Dates and Other Disturbances; Captain Placeholder; Soup or Heroes; 44th and 9th.
He has directed eight short films and hundreds of videos for Magpie Literacy, an Education Tech Company. He is currently directing his first feature- The Battle for West Park– a documentary which captures the clash between West Park Presbyterian Church and The Center at West Park. The film features Kenneth Lonergan, Matt Dillon, Richard Kind, Mark Ruffalo, Christian Slater and an unassuming theater company (Theater 86) as they fight to keep a landmark alive.
Hazen is a community builder, thought leader, teacher, and advocate for independent arts. He is passionate about arts education as a tool to help disadvantaged kids. He is a New Yorker from Michigan with two grandfathers who have both won World Series Championships in Major League Baseball.