T2 Welcomes New Managing Director
Chicago-area Producer, a Fayetteville Native,
Joins Leadership Team
FAYETTEVILLE, AR—July 13, 2009—TheatreSquared (T2) Artistic Director Robert Ford and the T2 Board of Directors announced today the hiring of a new managing director, Martin Miller, to co-lead the professional theatre company. A Fayetteville native, Mr. Miller has most recently served as Associate Producer for the 2008 Regional Tony Award winner Chicago Shakespeare Theater. After six years away, Mr. Miller is returning to Northwest Arkansas and will begin work immediately.
“We are thrilled to welcome Martin to TheatreSquared,” said Alicia Ledlie, President of the Board of Directors and a senior director at Wal-Mart Stores. “His background and wide range of skills make him the perfect fit to help us build the area’s audience and its reputation for quality, professional theater.”
While at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Mr. Miller led producing efforts including a bilingual Romeo and Juliet, The Second City’s Rod Blagojevich Superstar, and a hip-hop version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (Best Musical, 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival). As lead coordinator of the Theater’s annual Gala, he broke fundraising records twice in partnership with the city’s corporate leaders, raising over $1.5 million for the theatre’s arts-in-education programming. His concept for a new citywide holiday, “Talk Like Shakespeare Day,” was championed by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and profiled on news outlets from CNN, NBC and NPR to The Huffington Post and London’s Guardian. A graduate of Fayetteville High School and Carleton College, Mr. Miller holds an MFA in Arts Leadership from DePaul University.
“Wherever I’ve gone, Northwest Arkansas has always been home,” said Mr. Miller. “It also holds great promise to be a home for the arts. The work that TheatreSquared creates is involving and profoundly imaginative – I’m excited to take part in the next chapter of their story.”
Capping three years of growth in the burgeoning Northwest Arkansas cultural community, the hiring of a full-time managing director will also allow TheatreSquared to expand its arts-in-education outreach programming. T2 company member Morgan Hicks, who has served as part-time managing director since 2005, will lead the Theatre’s outreach as Director of Education and Program Development. “By expanding the leadership team, we have a wonderful opportunity to pursue innovative projects that we've been brainstorming for years. T2 produces the highest quality productions for our audiences, but also works to engage and enrich the lives of all members of our community. It’s an exciting time for our company.”
Ms. Hicks will also direct the 2009/10 Season’s inaugural production, the two-hour Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. The virtuosic, modern take on the Bard opens September 4. Following The Complete Works, the season continues with the World Premiere of Artistic Director Robert Ford’s new play, ‘Twas the Night. In this holiday family production, an unlikely love story unfolds during a close-knit performing company's final yuletide radio show, featuring fresh takes on favorite stories and songs. After the New Year, T2 presents Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel, the hilarious and moving story of one man’s search for answers when an overdue library book is returned – 113 years late. In the spring, Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius— a sharp and suspenseful comedic drama that illuminates the darker side of stamp collecting—takes the stage, fresh from its Broadway debut. Finally, the Arkansas New Play Festival in late spring brings together some of the brightest lights shining in playwriting today to create and present new works.
TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s professional theatre company, creating original productions for area audiences in downtown Fayetteville. The company creates work in the belief that theatre, done well and with passion, can transform lives and communities. Subscriptions for TheatreSquared’s 2009/10 Season start at $60 and are on sale now at theatresquared.org. Single tickets to all productions will be available for purchase beginning in August. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333.