The Ensemble Theatre

The Ensemble Theatre, located in the heart of midtown at 3535 Main Street in Houston, Texas, is the largest African-American professional theatre company in the United States that produces plays in-house and owns its own facility.

The Ensemble Theatre is a non-profit organization founded by George Hawkins in 1976 as a touring company that rehearsed in a church basement.

In 2003, the company was awarded $250,000 from the Houston Endowment Inc., with which it retired its original capital campaign debt and made some improvements to the facility. Since 1991, Houston Endowment Inc. has granted a total of $1,220,500 to the Ensemble, including an annual operating grant.

In August 2006, the Ensemble Theatre celebrated its 30-year anniversary, as it launched its 2006-2007 production season. This celebration included the presentation of an award to American actor and director Danny Glover, as the 2006 "Lifetime Achievement" honoree.

The Ensemble building, with its glass-enclosed lobby, hosts three stages located in the heart of Midtown, where a METRORail stop bears its name, Ensemble/HCC Station, an honor shared with the nearby Houston Community College ("HCC"). The facility includes a main stage auditorium with seating for 200, an arena stage that seats 125, and a grand performance hall that accommodates 500 people.

Each year the theatre presents a repertoire of critically acclaimed dramas, comedies and musicals that demonstrates the artistic ability of more than 250 professional local, regional and national artists and support staff. A non-profit organization, the Ensemble Theatre also has an educational touring program and a summer young performers training program.

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