Established in 1968,[1] it is the permanent home of the experimental theater company originally named The Performance Group (under Richard Schechner) that morphed in 1980 into The Wooster Group[2] (under Elizabeth LeCompte), and their primary performance venue.

[3] Actors such as Willem Dafoe debuted in earnest here[4] and regularly come back.

[5] The location was originally not a garage but a metal stamping/flatware factory,[2] back when SoHo was an empty warehouse district being colonized by artists.

In 1980, Richard Schechner resigned as director and the Performing Garage became home to the troupe renamed The Wooster Group under Elizabeth LeCompte, with their 1975–1980 independent works being retroactively considered[6] productions of the new Group.

The Performing Garage is owned and operated by the Wooster Group as a shareholder in the Grand Street Artists Co-op[2] (originally established as part of the Fluxus art movement in the 1960s).