The Theatre, The People, The Story
More Than a Building,
a Community.

Mission Statement

The Hippodrome creates exceptional
professional theater that engages,
challenges and inspires our community.

Engage:

We cultivate imagination and potential.

We provide a safe and supportive artistic home.

We collaborate with diverse organizations, sponsors, and individuals.

Challenge:

We invite our community to consider new perspectives.

We create works that explore our shared and diverse humanity.

We provide opportunities for personal and professional growth through communal experiences.

Inspire:

Experiences that ignite the human spirit.

We spark imagination through the universal language of storytelling.

We illuminate both the shared struggles and exquisite beauty of human relationship.

Our History - founded in 1972

The Hippodrome was founded in 1972 by six artists (Bruce Cornwell, Gregory Hausch, Mary Hausch, Kerry (McKinney) Oliver-Smith, Marilyn Wall and Orin Wechsberg) with the goal of presenting the best in challenging, contemporary theatre. By its official founding date of April 18, 1973, the Hippodrome had acquired a name, established a home in a converted hardware/convenience store and selected a season of plays and theatre classes for children.

During its first season, the Hippodrome presented seven mainstage productions and toured two productions for children. The theatre’s quality and support grew over the next two years and in 1975 the Hippodrome moved to a larger space, an empty warehouse that served as the theatre’s home for the next five years. These were exciting years of professional and artistic development for the company as it gained both national prominence and statewide support for its creative and imaginative approach to theatre.

In 1979 the Hippodrome moved into Gainesville’s most prominent building, the historic Federal Building, listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and located in the heart of downtown Gainesville. The Hippodrome, with support from the community, the State of Florida and a $150,000 Challenge Grant from the NEA, raised nearly $2 million dollars to restore this magnificent building and convert it into its present facility: a 276 seat, thrust-stage theatre with rehearsal space and a scene shop, an 75-seat cinema, an art gallery, bar, box office and administrative offices.

The new theatre opened its doors in early 1980, and in 1981 the Hippodrome was designated a State Theatre of Florida. The theatre enjoys recognition as one of the leading regional theaters in the country, with the primary goal of providing the best season of theater for audiences throughout the state. In maintaining this goal, the Hippodrome has become a major cultural resource to the community and the State of Florida, staging mainstage productions for more than 60,000 people annually.

The Hippodrome’s history and vitality are built on its artistic achievement. The theatre has produced more than one hundred world, American and Southeastern premieres in its history. Acclaimed playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, Eric Bentley, Paula Vogel, Lee Breuer, Adrian Mitchell and Mario Vargas Llosa have developed new works on the Hippodrome stage.

In addition to its mainstage season, the Hippodrome screens first-run foreign, limited-release and avant-garde films. The Hippodrome Cinema Series has 1,000 members, 20,000 patrons and more than 700 screenings per year. The Hippodrome also houses an art gallery which is available, by invitation, to Florida artists at no charge.

Our Mission

The mission of the Hippodrome is to provide a first-class regional theatre and an artistic space committed to excellence in North Florida; to collaborate with extraordinary artists in order to provide education programs, events, and cinematic programming that reflect and elevate the diverse cultures and perspectives of our region; and to create and maintain ongoing engagement with our community.

Hipp 6 Podcast

How it all began!

This podcast tells the stories of the struggles and triumphs a group of college students experienced creating the Hippodrome, a small regional avant-garde theatre in Gainesville, Florida.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Pictured: Founding member Marilyn Wall Assee and actress Melba Moore

2023/2024 Annual Report

Strategic Plan 2023 - 2028

Board Members

Bruce Cornwell

Bruce Cornwell is one of the Founders of the Hippodrome Theatre and currently serves on its Board of Directors. In addition to the Hipp, he has worked with Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Circle Rep and Pearl Theatre Company in New York City, Capitol Repertory Theatre in Albany, Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, and Edgemar Theatre and Ark Theatre Company in Los Angeles. For five years, he reviewed the work of close to 80 theatre companies throughout the United States as an adjunct to the National Endowment for the Arts’ Theatre Program. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and for the past 15 years has worked at Gainesville’s V.A. Hospital with veterans struggling with chronic serious mental illness.

Michael Curry

Board President, Michael Curry, has extensive experience in the start-up and management of television stations having owned two stations in Miami. In addition, Mr. Curry has managed numerous production projects for broadcast television over the past 30 years. This is Mr. Curry’s second documentary film production as Executive Producer and Producer and the first he has co-written. In 2007, Mr. Curry served as the Executive Producer and Producer of Dance of My Heart, a full-length documentary film about the life of Albert Alonso, one of the founders of the Cuban National Ballet.

Jeff Tate

Dr. Tate is a seasoned executive with 30+ years of accomplishment in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and nutritional supplements industries including: branded generic drugs, intellectual property strategy, product development, and cGMP manufacturing. He is intimately familiar with food and drug marketing approval procedures, documentation and strategy in U.S. and foreign markets. Experienced in implementation of all aspects of regulatory compliance and in successfully communicating with regulatory agency representatives. Successful in establishing an integrated regulatory compliance program resulting in timely, cost effective corporate-wide compliance, meeting regulatory agency requirements and customer expectations. Closely monitors developments in U.S. and international regulations to maintain compliance and identify regulatory strategies for new products and markets.

Patents:
Drying Apparatus and Methods for Ethanol Production
Methods and Apparatus for Drying Condensed Distiller's Soluble (CDS) to Produce Dried Distiller's Soluble (DDS)
Bioelastomers Derived from Co-products of Biofuel Production
Methods and Apparatus for the Production of Viral Vaccines
Methods and Apparatus for the production of Sweeteners
Methods and Apparatus for the Production of Coffee
Methods and Apparatus for the production of Cyclodextrins and Cyclodextrin Complexes

Community Partners

Our collaborations with the City of Gainesville, The River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, TeensWork Alachua, Project YouthBuild, and the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere have been instrumental in helping us fulfill our mission to engage, challenge, and inspire. Together, we've created pathways for arts education and cultural experiences that reach across diverse communities, breaking down barriers to participation and fostering creative growth.

These partnerships reflect our belief that theatre and the arts belong to everyone. By working alongside organizations dedicated to youth development, peacebuilding, workforce training, and humanities education, we're able to cultivate imagination and potential in ways that extend throughout our community. Through these collaborative efforts, we provide safe and supportive spaces where individuals can explore new perspectives, develop their artistic voices, and experience the power of storytelling.

We're honored to work with partners who share our commitment to excellence, inclusion, and community engagement, and we look forward to continuing to build meaningful connections that elevate and reflect the diverse cultures and perspectives of our region.