Tokyo International Players were black-tie occasions. Today, TIP generally presents four mainstage shows per season. In June 2009, TIP launched its "Second Stage" series with "Honiefaith" by Monty DiPietro. Second Stage features smaller-scale, black box-style productions. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, one of the few buildings in Tokyo to withstand the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, had an intimate theater which hosted the club until the early 1960s. Most TIP performances from 1974 to 2007 were staged in the Grand Ballroom of the Tokyo American Club. Currently, TIP uses several professional theater spaces in the Tokyo metropolitan area including Theater Sun-mall in
Tokyo Imperial Palace Castle. The modern palace designed for various imperial court functions and receptions is located in the old "Nishinomaru" section of the palace grounds. On a much more modest scale, the residence of the current Emperor and empress is located in the Fukiage Gardens. Designed by Japanese architect Shōzō Uchii the modern residence was completed in 1993. Except for Imperial Household Agency and the East Gardens, the palace is generally closed to the public, except for reserved guided tours from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Each New Year (January 2) and Emperor's Birthday, the public is permitted to enter through the Nakamon (inner