JAMES HOUGHTON

HOUGHTON--James.

Signature Theatre mourns the loss of our founder, James Houghton, after a two-year battle with stomach cancer. Under Jim's leadership as Founding Artistic Director, Signature became one of the country's preeminent theatres. Founded in 1991, Signature was the first company to dedicate a full season to a living writer's body of work. The company has since launched two additional residency programs, as well as the Signature Ticket Initiative, its groundbreaking ticket subsidy program. In 2012 Signature opened The Pershing Square Signature Center, the largest new theatre center in New York City in nearly 50 years, and was recognized in 2014 with the Regional Theatre Tony Award for its unique mission and outstanding body of work. Signature was founded after an experience that would change Jim's life. Jim arrived in New York in 1986, newly married to his wife of now 29 years, Joyce O'Connor, both pursuing acting careers. Jim was soon cast in a production of Romulus Linney's Heathen Valley, directed by the playwright. Inspired by Linney and the opportunity to directly engage with the writer, Jim decided to produce an entire season of Linney's plays with the goal of honoring his rich body of work, and engaging him in the entire process. This season, produced in 1991-92, would be Signature's first. As Linney described it: "I had a greater sense of myself after that season, as a writer and as a person, than I had ever had." Signature continued to celebrate one writer each season for the next twenty years. After four seasons in a 90-seat theatre in the Kampo Cultural Center and two at the Public Theatre, Signature built its own home in 1996, the 160- seat Peter Norton Space. Signature's playwrights-in-residence during this time include: Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, and a season honoring the Historic Negro Ensemble Company with plays by Charles Fuller, Leslie Lee, and Samm-Art Williams. Of his season, Albee said, "I was invisible in New York City. Signature generated the re-approval of my work." Each playwright-in- residence was truly that: fully integrated into the creative process and the life of Signature. But Jim still wanted to serve even more people. In January 2012, Signature opened The Pershing Square Signature Center, a three- theatre facility on 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects. There, Signature launched Residency Five, an unprecedented program guaranteeing writers three premieres over the course of five years. Signature's Residency Five Playwrights are Annie Baker, Martha Clarke, Will Eno, Katori Hall, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan, and Regina Taylor. Baker said, "Jim was the first person to use the phrase 'your body of work' when he talked to me, and suddenly I realized that I could have a body of work." At the Center, writers receiving a year-long residency (now called Residency One) include Athol Fugard, A.R. Gurney, David Henry Hwang, Suzan-Lori Parks and Naomi Wallace. The Center also features a cafe, bookstore, and perhaps most important to Jim, a massive lobby that connects all three theatres and serves as a space where audiences and artists collide and connect. Signature's mission is about honoring individual playwrights and their bodies of work--"hits" and misfits alike. Jim was most interested in the misfits, because he believed that we're all misfits who deserve attention and respect. That is Signature's true mission: honoring not just writers, but every person involved in bringing the work to life. Jim believed that the audience in a theatre should resemble the diversity in a New York City subway car. He tirelessly sought the support of corporations and individuals in order to launch the Signature Ticket Initiative in 2006, providing subsidized tickets for every seat at every performance of Signature's productions; tickets were $15 at the launch. Jacobs-Jenkins said, "Signature was the first theatre I ever purchased a subscription to. Great theatre was suddenly something very true and accessible and welcoming to me." Jim insisted on giving back to the many people who worked at Signature, dedicating an "Alumni Night" for every production--a free performance to which everyone who's ever worked at Signature is invited, from interns to playwrights-in-residence. To date, 49 Alumni Nights have been attended by over 10,000 former Signature artists and staff. Beloved for calling everyone "brother" or "sister," Jim treated everyone he worked with like family. And Jim's own family set the standard. From the beginning, Joyce was a vital part of Signature; she appeared as an actor in several seasons, and virtually funded the company's early years with her earnings from a very successful detergent commercial. She has remained a steadfast supporter of Jim's vision; her passion and patience led Jim to call her "Signature's unsung hero." Their children Henry and Lily, born during the Blessing and Foote seasons, have always been adored presences at Signature. Incredibly, Jim found time to share his passion and vision with other revered institutions. Since 2006, he served as the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division at The Juilliard School. He also served as Artistic Director of the O'Neill Playwrights Conference (1999-2003), the New Harmony Project (1996-1999), and as Artistic Advisor to the Guthrie Theater (1998-2012). On any given day the Signature lobby is full of people having meetings, writing, on their way to rehearsals, or seeing shows, just as Jim wanted. The lives of many have been changed, and will continue to be, because of him. Thank you, brother. You will always be with us. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to AfterWork Theater and Daniel's Music, two organizations that helped Jim's son Henry. Signature Theatre Board and Staff