2001
Zak Berkman, Melissa Friedman, Teri Lamm, Craig Rovere, Ron Russell, Shaheen Vaaz, & James Wallert establish an artist-run theatre dedicating to building bridges between professional stages and public schools. Epic integrates the production of new and classic political plays with an emphasis on youth development and civic dialogue, with arts intervention programs in 40 schools in the wake of 9/11, touring an adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone to hundreds of NYC public school students, and a Workshop Production of Zak Berkman's A Breath Short of Breathing.
2002
Epic begins production Off-Broadway with an acclaimed production of JB Priestley's Time and the Conways and commissions Kate Fodor's Hannah and Martin.
2003
Epic begins receiving funding for our in-school arts residency programs from the National Endowment for the Arts, a 23-year run ended by the politicization and decimation of the agency by the White House in 2025.
2004
NYC Premiere of Kate Fodor's Hannah and Martin and the creation of the Shakespeare REMIX program with Chelsea Career and Technical Education HS.
2005
Epic co-founds the Bronx HS for Writing and Communication Arts on the Evander Childs Campus through a grant from New Visions and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Attendance on campus spikes from under 30% to over 85% in one year.
Epic wins its first OBIE, Off-Broadway's highest honor, for the professional authenticity of our work in schools on The Antigone Project.
2006
World Premiere and commercial transfer of No Child... by Nilaja Sun, winning OBIEs, Drama Desks, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Sun ulitimately performs this solo play over 2500 times in 50 cities across the U.S. and world.
2009
Epic wins the National Arts and Humanities Youth Programs Award for Shakespeare REMIX, and receives the award from First Lady Michelle Obama, while also producing the acclaimed New York Premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play.
2011
Epic wins Norway's International Ibsen Award for its work on making Ibsen's plays more accessible to young Americans.
2012
Epic Next - a groundbreaking youth arts and leadership program - is launched through the support of a 5-year grant from the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation.
Off-Broadway production of Jeanne Sakata's Hold These Truths sparks national tour.
