🎟 General Admission: $30 Pay online or at the door. We accept cash, check, or credit card at the door.

💸 Early Bird Discount: $25 Available until opening night. Select this option in the dropdown on Ludus when purchasing (disappears after opening night).

👴 Senior Discount: $25 Available for seniors. Select this option in the dropdown on Ludus or pay at the door.

🎓 Student Discount: $15 Available for all students (high school & college). Select this option in the dropdown on Ludus or pay at the door.

📅 Student Night: $5 Typically the first Saturday night performance (subject to change). Select this option in the dropdown on Ludus or pay at the door.

❤️ Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC): Always available at the door, by phone, or email (subject to availability).

🎭 Industry Night: $15 Available on the second Friday of the run.

📚 OLLI Night: $20 Special rate for OLLI members. Available on the 4th Friday of the run.

👥 Group Rates:

• Groups of 10+ → $20 per person + 1 free ticket (11th ticket is free).

• Groups of 20+ → $15 per person + 2 free tickets (21st & 22nd tickets are free).

• Payment is due at time of booking or at least one month before the performance.

• No refunds. To arrange, please email or call us.

Theatre NOVA is dedicated to raising awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and new playwrights in a diverse and expanding audience; and providing resources and outlets for playwrights to develop their craft, by importing, exporting, and developing new plays and playwrights.

​

NEW PLAYS YOU NEED TO SEE

We scour the country for the hottest new work - bringing you the most exciting, interesting, cutting-edge plays.

Plays that are adventurous, journeys of imagination, shocking at times, and always thought-provoking. Plays that respect your intellect, imagination, and curiosity, and offer something new, unexpected, innovative, and stimulating.

NEW VOICES YOU NEED TO HEAR

We track playwrights from their earliest development, and bring you work by the newest up-and-comers you need to know about.

• We believe that the most vital theatre experience for a modern audience is engaging with contemporaneous stories, by a range of playwrights that reflects the diversity of our community.

​

• We select plays that offer the viewer something new. Whether it's a new approach to language, a new perspective on a social issue, a genre that is new to our audiences, a new playwright's unique voice, or the innovative treatment of an age-old theme, our plays explore the value and excitement of looking at the world in a fresh new way.

​

• We place our trust in the playwright as visionary, encouraging them to create art that is necessary in our world today, whether hard-hitting social drama, or wild and woolly, frivolous fun.

​

• We believe that the most critical calling of the American theatre today is to support and develop new plays and playwrights.

​

• We believe that theatre experiences should not be a luxury for the privileged few, but a building block of a civilized society, accessible to all.

​

• We believe artists are capable of governance and invite them onto our board.

The Yellow Barn

Did you know there is a big Yellow Barn in downtown Ann Arbor?

Yup. It’s right there, smack dab in the middle of everything - a big, funky, yellow barn with wooden beams and hardwood floors. Located at 410 West Huron, tucked away in the parking lot across from the YMCA.

If you’re on Main Street and you head west two blocks on Huron, make one quick right after you go under the railroad trestle and you’re there.

One block away from: The Last Word, Live, Miki Japanese, Knight’s Market, Big City Small World Bakery, and Tasty Bakery. (See a map here!)

Two words: Free. Parking. (for patrons during performances, but that's more than two words.)

Theatre NOVA’s commitment to education shines through programs like the Playmakers Summer Theatre Camp and Build-a-Play, providing theatrical education to 200+ children annually. In collaboration with AAPS Recreation and Education, students write, rehearse, design, and perform plays through these educational outlets. In the process, they learn about movement, improvisation, reading, listening, teamwork, and voice and diction; along with a healthy dose of design, crafting, and theatre games. Students gain self-confidence and teamwork skills in high-energy, fun environments taught by Michigan theatre professionals. Our children’s programs regularly receive high marks through surveys conducted by our collaborator, Ann Arbor Rec and Ed. These camps and classes fill up fast, with numerous students returning year after year. Instructors consistently receive praise from our young participants and their parents: “Thank you so kindly for sharing your time and talent with [our child] and the crew in Build a Play! She had such a wonderful new experience and felt so supported by you. Your vision, creativity, and flexibility were an absolute marvel to us as parents throughout the whole process! Thank you also for the excellent communication. [She] is so proud and delighted by the final film you created! She can’t wait to share it. It was wonderful to see how it all came together!”

Theatre Nova is dedicated to championing new plays and playwrights. We empower playwrights through initiatives like the Michigan Playwrights Festival and by staging World Premieres. Establishing an in-house residency marks a natural progression and a fitting celebration of ten years fulfilling our mission. ​ A play’s journey begins with a playwright and a pencil, but bringing it to life requires collaboration. Our New Play Development Residency offers Michigan playwrights a comprehensive workshopping process without the pressure of a performance. Playwrights collaborate with a dramaturg, director, and actors to refine scripts in a supportive environment. ​ Our residency prioritizes script development, allowing playwrights to refine their work without the constraints of traditional production schedules. By nurturing Michigan playwrights, we aim to fill a gap in the theater community, providing a supportive space for new voices to flourish.

2024 INAUGURAL RESIDENCY July-August 2024 ​ ​Eclipsed: The Sun, The Moon, and Gladys Atkinson Sweet by D. L. Patrick On the night of September 9, 1925, Gladys Atkinson Sweet was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, along with her husband, Dr. Ossian Sweet, and nine other African Americans following the attack on her Detroit home by more than 700 white neighbors. Although much has been written about Dr. Sweet and the two Sweet trials, litigated by Clarence Darrow, this play imagines the perspective of Gladys Sweet and the women who populated her life. It is about what women do, and have always done, in the shadows. Directed by Lynch Travis Dramaturgy by Olivia Kiefer ​ Cast: Princess Jones- Gladys Atkinson Sweet Diriest Crowell-Buffington- Rosella Mitchell Shanice Davis- Edna Butler Emily Wilson-Tobin- Madame Curie/Ruby Darrow Deborah Carter- Dora Sweet Darius Franklin- Walter White ​ Join us for a staged reading at the Michigan Playwrights Festival on August 24, 2024, and for the World Premiere at Theatre Nova in April 2025.

(March 10, 2025)

We believe that a theatre should directly reflect and reach out to the community in which it resides. Therefore, we

strive to engage both audience and artists regardless of their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity,

income level, or physical ability. We seek to amplify voices that have been historically under-represented and under-

resourced in the arts and strive to incorporate anti-racist and anti-sexist practices across all aspects of our work.

We believe that in order to achieve the highest artistic standards, each participant must feel safe to take risks

personally and artistically. Therefore, all participants in our theatre will be treated respectfully and as artists in their

own right. We believe science dictates the essential public health measures, both psychological and physical, that we

take to protect our artists, staff and audiences.

We take compliance with Michigan anti-discrimination and harassment laws seriously

(https://www.house.mi.gov/media/PDFs/HUM0104.pdf). Our policies reflect the requirements of current laws and

provide multiple clear paths for reporting any incidents of discrimination and harassment. We encourage everyone

who interacts with our organization to speak up if they experience or witness discrimination or harassment, and we

will take immediate action to address any such behavior.

At Theatre NOVA, we believe theatre should be a place where everyone feels seen, valued, and safe. We recognize that systemic oppression — including racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other forms of discrimination — continues to shape the world we live in, including the arts.

We are committed to building a culture of equity, inclusion, and justice. That means actively working to dismantle systems of white supremacy, heteronormativity, and exclusion within our organization and community. It also means listening, learning, and being accountable when we fall short.

We are especially grateful to the Black Lives Matter movement, We See You, White American Theatre, and the artists and activists in our own community who continue to hold us accountable. This work is ongoing — and it must be intersectional. We center the experiences of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists and community members in everything we do.

We recognize that we operate within systems that have historically privileged white, cisgender, heterosexual, and able-bodied people — including within our own leadership. As such, we commit to:

• Increasing representation of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists, staff, board members, and leadership.

• Programming stories by and about historically marginalized voices.

• Providing safe, supportive, and accountable creative environments for all artists.

• Offering anti-oppression and anti-racism training for staff and board members.

• Listening to and compensating those who share feedback or experiences of harm.

• Creating transparent systems for accountability and repair.
  

We also acknowledge that Theatre NOVA is located on land originally stewarded by the Anishinaabeg, including the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi peoples, and the Wyandot (Huron) people. We honor their past, present, and future contributions.

This work is not easy, and it will never be finished. We regularly review and update our progress. We understand that equity work is not a checklist, but a lifelong practice. But we remain committed to showing up — humbly, honestly, and with open hearts — to build a theatre that reflects the world we want to live in.

As of July 2025, masking is optional at Theatre NOVA. We encourage patrons to make the choice that best supports their own health and comfort.

We remain committed to the well-being of our artists, staff, and audience. Our policies may be updated in response to public health conditions, including local outbreaks of COVID-19, influenza, or other respiratory illnesses.

PLEASE DO NOT COME TO THE THEATRE IF YOU ARE SICK. If you need to exchange your tickets due to illness, please email a2theatrenova@gmail.com at least two hours' notice before your scheduled performance. There are no refunds on ticket purchases.

We appreciate your care for each other and your support of live theatre.