Equity Library Theatre (New York, N.Y.)

Equity Library Theatre (ELT) was started in 1943 by actor Sam Jaffe, a representative of the Actor's Equity Association, and George Freedley, the curator of the Theatre Collection of the New York Public Library. During the 1940s, ELT productions were staged in small performance spaces in the city's public libraries, which inspired the company's name. In the fall of 1949, a temporary home for ELT was established at the Lenox Hill Playhouse, in the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, at 331 East 70th Street. In 1950, ELT was incorporated as a nonprofit organization and as a tax-exempt corporation. It was controlled jointly by a Board of Directors and by Actor's Equity Association.

Equity Library Theatre was founded as a showcase theatre which would give actors an opportunity to play, develop and grow in their craft. By producing only revivals, ELT was purely an actor's theatre, rather than a producer's tryout, a director's experiment, or a playwright's developmental project. ELT was conceived as an outgrowth of Actors' Equity Association, and its productions only featured Equity actors. Equity was also a major financier for ELT in its early years. The producer John Golden was also a significant financial supporter of ELT, as were other wealthy patrons of the arts.

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