Theatre Development Fund
Mission: TDF, a not-for-profit organization, was created with the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. TDF’s twofold mission is to identify and provide support, including financial assistance, to theatrical works of artistic merit, and to encourage and enable diverse audiences to attend live theatre and dance in all their venues. History: Created in 1968 to help an ailing New York theatre industry, TDF has grown into the nation's largest performing arts nonprofit, providing support to more than 900 plays and musicals and returning upwards of $1.5 billion in revenue to thousands of Broadway, Off-Broadway and off Off-Broadway music and dance productions.www.tdf.org
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Search complete. 3 mentions across 2 episodes found for "Theatre Development Fund".
Sep 16, 2026
John Michael DiRestaGUEST
My background is I went to Columbia for English, where I studied theater academically within the context of an English department.
John Michael DiRestaGUEST
I then became an education director for both the Theater Development Fund and Manhattan Class Company, MCC Theater in New York, and got an awful lot of learning by doing experience there.
John Michael DiRestaGUEST
My approach to theater, and I think the approach to theater that happens in my university that I'm really excited about, has always been holistic and has always been interdisciplinary and multimodal.
John Michael DiRestaGUEST
And it's really exciting to get to work on that within the context of the liberal arts education that we offer at Drew.
Bill DigneitGUEST
I think that especially in the arts and production and world, we've really thought about inclusivity and equity and access.
Bill DigneitGUEST
So the Theater for All program actually was inspired by TDF in New York.
Bill DigneitGUEST
They have their autism theater initiative, which is getting people that would identify autism or needing a sensory friendly performance to go to see a Broadway show.
Bill DigneitGUEST
And it's a really wonderful experience and an amazing program.
Bill DigneitGUEST
And I was like, how about 74 days? And they're like, oh.
Bill DigneitGUEST
And so we went out.
Bill DigneitGUEST
We went and saw Wicked with TDF, and they had done their autism theater initiative.
Bill DigneitGUEST
And we learned a ton, and it was amazing.