History

Theatrical agent Bret Adams and his partner Dr. Paul Reisch loved the theatre with great passion. As an agent, Bret shepherded the careers of many actors, writers and directors and designers, including Phylicia Rashad, Judy Kaye, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Sherman Helmsley, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eve Arden, Christine Ebersole, Kathleen Marshall, Jayne Wyman, Andre De Shields, Kathy Bates, Susan H. Schulman, Jack Heifner, Philip McKinley and Robert Harling, among many others.  

After Bret and Paul passes, their eponymous foundation was created at their bequest. The Bret Adams & Paul Reisch Foundation champions visionary playwrights in their creation of expansive, illuminating, and idea-driven theatre.

Embracing diversity in all its forms, The Foundation encourages artists with fresh perspectives - particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds - to create idea-driven new plays and musicals reflecting on multivalent  themes including science, history, philosophy, gender, race, politics, sexual orientation, technology, religion, money, global warming, and medicine, among others.

The Foundation currently has three annual awards: The Ollie Award, which recognizes emerging playwrights; The Tooth of Time, which recognizes the work of established theatrical voices; And the Vivace Award, which recognizes musical theatre artists. Nominations for all three awards are accepted exclusively from The Foundation’s Board of Artistic Advisors for each award.  Each year’s award recipients are recognized and celebrated at the Idea Awards for Theatre.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation issued 80 emergency relief grants to artists in the amount of $2,500 each, with additional support from The Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation and New Dramatists. These grants went to theatre artists who had a full professional production cancelled, closed, or indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 closures.