BOSTON: Following a national research of six months, the board of directors of Speakeasy Stage Company announced the appointment of the award -winning theater artist Dawn Mr. Simmons as a new artistic director, from July 1. Simmons succeeds the founding artistic director Paul Daigneault, who led the company for more than three decades.
“Dawn is one of the main Boston theater directors, and was approved unanimously by the board of directors for this position,” the co -chairs of the board of directors Andrew Fulem said in a statement. “She has the skills, experience and imagination necessary to succeed someone as visionary and influence that Paul, and will increase the profile of Speakeasy at regional and national level.”
Simmons is a director, producer, playwright, administrator, cultural consultant and award -winning educator. She directed productions in Boston, Massachusetts, and throughout the country, recently carrying out production acclaimed by Speakeasy's criticism of Speakeasy It is not a mo ' by Jordan E. Cooper, co -production with the Collective on the porch artsthat she co-founded with Maurice Emmanuel Parent. The collective is the main Black theater company in Boston is committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through the theater. Simmons holds the teacher of Monan 2024-25 in the theater arts at the Boston College, who brings renowned theater artists to work and teach on the campus for a year.
“I have admired the incredible Speakeasy team for years, and I had the chance to collaborate with them in an innumerable way,” said Simmons in a press release. “Entering the role of the artistic director is a real honor; I am more excited to join this remarkable team. This is an opportunity to trigger a daring new chapter for speakeasy, the one where we continue to captivate and challenge the public with powerful and stimulating productions and the research of programming.
The national search was guided by consultants at the Devos Institute of Arts and Instal for non -profit and was led by a speakeasy research committee including personnel leaders, members of the board of directors and members of the Advisory Council. The work of the committee was informed by the interviews and the surveys between the main stakeholders, in particular the staff and the members of the board of directors, as well as by a wider community of artists who worked with the company. The committee has examined nearly 100 candidates interested in 15 states and three countries.
Now in his 34th year, Speakeasy Stage is a professional non -profit theater company awarded in residence of the Stanford Calderwood pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. Founded and led by the production of the artistic director Paul Daigneault, the company has always been acclaimed for its original intimate productions of superior quality of daring contemporary pieces and musicals which, for three decades, triggered conversations that challenge, connect and inspire its audience and the largest community in Boston. In 2023, they had a budget of around $ 2 million.
