Theatrical Outfit Inc

OUR VISION

A compassionate community grounded in dignity, justice, and equity.

OUR MISSION

Produce world-class theatre that starts the conversations that matter.

Theatrical Outfit (TO) is proud to be Atlanta's downtown theatre.  The second oldest professional theatre in Atlanta, TO has brought exemplary artistry and integrity to the cultural landscape of the city for over 47 years. Since 2005, TO has made its home in the Balzer Theater at Herren’s on Luckie Street. This space is important to our identity in its downtown location as well as its historic significance: Herren's was the first white restaurant to voluntarily desegregate in 1962, risking backlash in the pursuit of racial equity. TO preserved several pieces of this history, including two original Herren's signs, which are now featured prominently in our newly renovated lobby that received its grand reopening in March 2023. TO has also made a commitment to environmental responsibility which led to our becoming the first theater in the country to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. These facts are a physical manifestation of our commitment to equity and responsibility within our community.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Matt Torney, TO’s work focuses excellent artistic programming for our audiences in metro Atlanta and beyond: the Mainstage Season, the “Made in Atlanta” new works program, and Community Engagement partnerships and events including production partnerships with fellow non-profits, the "Rhythm & Revision" writing and performance program for young people, and the Tom Key Arts Leadership Apprentice Program.

At the heart of the 2025–2026 Season are four bold mainstage productions – including the first time two iconic Atlanta playwrights have shared a season. Launching the season is a thrilling revival of Tennessee Williams’ THE GLASS MENAGERIE . This American masterpiece returns to Atlanta with a bold new vision designed to highlight the lasting power that happens when great writing meets stunning performance. The new year will welcome the World Premiere of Steve Yockey’s BLEEDING HEARTS. Following Venus this past season (as part of our first annual LAUNCHPAD Festival), Yockey returns with a breakneck, pitch-black farce about the disappearing middle class & how people forget to put themselves in each others' shoes. Next up is a revival of Arthur Miller’s THE PRICE – a co-production with The Breman following the successes of Remember This and The Lehman Trilogy. The 3 Lehman brothers – Andrew Benator, Brian Kurlander, and Eric Mendenhall – return for Miller as you’ve never seen it before. The season will conclude with Lauren Gunderson’s THE REVOLUTIONISTS. One of TO’s favorite playwrights, Lauren Gunderson (Silent Sky & Christmas at Pemberley) returns home with an irreverent, girl-powered comedy about violence and legacy, art and activism, and how we actually go about changing the world.

Our Fall 2025-Spring 2026 tour of Young John Lewis, telling the story of a local hero through song and spoken word, includes stops at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center for the Arts, Cobb Energy Center (facilitated through the ArtsBridge Foundation), Roswell Cultural Arts Center, and the Porter Sanford Center in Decatur. Additional stops are being coordinated, and we are further adapting the piece for middle school students in preparation for a co-production with Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre launching next year. The tour is produced in community partnership with the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation.

In addition to a sizzling Mainstage Season, TO will continue its commitment to local new work with MADE IN ATLANTA. This program will feature the return of LAUNCHPAD 2.0 (July 2026). Following its highly successful launch this past season (in which all four World Premieres have booked future productions), this innovative festival will once again feature 4 World Premieres running in rep to form a one-of-a-kind experience. Each of the productions showcases an original Atlanta voice, and the festival is designed to set up works that are ready to tour.

"The 25–26 Season is offering an amazing contemporary play by an artist from Atlanta, a World Premiere of a play by an artist from Atlanta, and fresh take on two classics from the American canon with a creative and production team loaded with homegrown artists,” says Addae Moon, Associate Artistic Director. “I'm especially excited about the second year of LAUNCHPAD and the engaging template it provides for new work development. We are also, for the first time, exploring the use of a rigorous dramaturgical framework for our two classic shows in order to create an even more immersive and engaging theatrical experience for our audiences. Even with all of the challenges, it is an exciting time to be making theatre!”