The Beginning
Once upon a time, in Allentown, Penn., a group of creative theatre majors at Muhlenberg College formed the Uninvited Guests Comedy Troupe. They traveled up and down the east coast, making the people laugh.
A few years after graduating, the original band of brothers were clamoring for an opportunity to collaborate with other artists (and genders) beyond their improv and sketch comedy borders and decided to call their new venture A Broken Umbrella Theatre.
First Steps
In August of 2002, in collaboration with Our Shoes Are Red: a theatre laboratory, they mounted a production of Waiting for Godot. The show was successful, but as it happens in life, the band went on hiatus as the members went in search of things like graduate school, paid acting gigs, marriage, and excellent surfing conditions in Hawaii.
New Haven Chapter
The next chapter was just around the corner, however, and in 2008 the band got back together in New Haven, Connecticut.
Inspired by the history and the thriving arts community in their Westville neighborhood, the members of A Broken Umbrella Theatre took to Edgewood Park and started creating site-specific original work for audiences of all ages with amazing community partners.
The Ensemble Grows
The ensemble has grown, not only because members started having babies, but also because risk-taking theatre artists who live in the New Haven region have joined forces with the original band to take all of their skills, ideas, and dreams to the next level.
Our Productions
Since 2009, we have created 15 original productions, each inspired by a real moment in New Haven's history. From the invention of the bicycle to the opening of the Shubert Theatre, from the Diamond Match Company to the world's first telephone exchange — every show connects our community to the stories that shaped it.
Timeline
Explore the interactive timeline that maps our productions to the New Haven history that inspired them.