Director Carole Rothman and actress Robyn Goodman founded Second Stage Theatre in 1979 to give second stagings to contemporary American plays that originally failed to find an audience due to scheduling problems, inappropriate venues or limited performance runs. Since then, Second Stage has evolved from a small theatre into an Off-Broadway institution dedicated to developing plays, artists and audiences. Second Stage Theatre gives new life to contemporary American plays through second stagings; provides emerging authors with their Off-Broadway debuts; and produces world premieres by America's most respected playwrights. Through both the production of new plays and long-term residencies that focus on artistic process rather than product, artists find a supportive environment in which to try new roles, production designs and writing techniques.