The Rep is the St. Louis region's most-honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. The Rep operates independently of, but under a mutually beneficial agreement with, Webster University. The Rep operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The Rep hires directors and choreographers who are members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and stagehands who are members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Financial assistance for this theatre has been provided by the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis; the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.