Andrew Neisler and Anna Morton Stacey Named Co-Artistic Directors of Ars Nova

Ars Nova has announced that Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan will step down from his role as Artistic Director on June 30, 2025, following over two decades of leadership. The announcement comes after two years of leadership succession planning in conversation with the board, staff, and consultants. Current Associate Artistic Directors Andrew Neisler and Anna Morton Stacey have been promoted by the board to Co-Artistic Directors, commencing with the 2025-2026 season. Eagan will remain in a pivotal role, providing strategic mentorship and guidance as an advisor to new leadership throughout the transition.

Co-Founders Jenny and Jon Steingart shared, “Jason's leadership has been defined by his deep commitment to identifying and developing artists, his genre-breaking programming, and his extraordinary ability to foster a diverse and collaborative community. His entrepreneurial spirit and strategic vision have been pivotal in expanding Ars Nova's reach, securing its place as a vital institution in the New York City arts scene. As he transitions into an advisory role, we feel grateful that he was the driving force that infused all of his creative being into the DNA of Ars Nova, ensuring the legacy of creativity, inclusivity, and innovation into the company going forward. As we have always been excited to watch new generations of artists ascend, we are just as thrilled to see Anna and Andrew step into leadership roles that will bring fresh, dynamic energy to Ars Nova's artistic programming and shape its future.”

“I'm proud of what we've accomplished over the past two decades,” said Jason Eagan. “When I started here, I never imagined Ars Nova would become one of the great cultural gems of New York City. I'm grateful for Jenny and Jon's unwavering support, which gave me the freedom and opportunity to pour my creativity, vision, and time into building something we could all believe in. This has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. I am eternally grateful to the artists who have trusted me to help bring your visions to life. I'm equally grateful to past and present board and staff, whose dedication has made Ars Nova so much of what it has become. I am confident that Ars Nova's rogue spirit will continue in the hands of Anna and Andrew as Co-Artistic Directors. Their vision, energy, and shared commitment to the mission give me complete confidence that Ars Nova will evolve to meet the needs of artists for years to come. I look forward to supporting them and the entire team in this exciting next chapter.”

In 2022, Ars Nova began planning for the next generation of artistic leadership. By 2023, Eagan and the board introduced a dual Associate Artistic Director model, with Neisler and Stacey leading complementary aspects of the company's mission. Their seamless collaboration, rooted in a shared vision and distinct yet harmonious strengths, paved the way for their appointment as Co-Artistic Directors, ensuring a forward-thinking evolution of leadership and reaffirming Ars Nova's commitment to innovation.

“Ars Nova has been my artistic home for most of my professional career and it will be an honor to lead the company with Anna," said Andrew Neisler. "I believe the mission is not only vital to the artists whose work we support but also critical to maintaining a vibrant and thriving culture in New York City.”

"Joining the Ars Nova team in 2023 was a dream come true for me, and I am proud to continue my service to the organization in this new role. I look forward to partnering with Andrew to build upon Jason's legacy in the coming years and set forth a vision for the future of Ars Nova," said Anna Morton Stacey.

Board Chair Alisa Lessing added, “Andrew and Anna's artistic prowess reflects the same curiosity, energy, and ambition that Jason has brought to the company over the years. We are confident they will build on Ars Nova's legacy of innovation and continue to lead the organization into a bright and dynamic future.'"

Since joining Ars Nova in 2003, Jason Eagan has been instrumental in the organization's rise to prominence. During Eagan's tenure, Ars Nova has played a vital role in discovering, developing, and launching the careers of countless artists, including Rachel Chavkin, Billy Eichner, Bridget Everett, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Dave Malloy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Isaac Oliver, Shaina Taub, Alex Timbers, Bess Wohl, and Bowen Yang. These artists, among many others, have gone on to achieve significant success across theater, film, and television, expanding Ars Nova's impact far beyond the stage. Under his leadership, Ars Nova has become a premier launchpad for new work, commissioning and producing productions such as boom, Freestyle Love Supreme, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Underground Railroad Game, KPOP, Oratorio for Living Things, and (pray). These productions achieved widespread critical and commercial success and have helped shape the cultural landscape of Off-Broadway, Broadway, and beyond. Eagan's influence extends beyond high-profile productions and well-known artists; it encompasses the thousands of projects and countless emerging voices that have been nurtured under his guidance, cementing Ars Nova's relevance and necessity as an incubator. Under his leadership, Ars Nova has consistently provided a platform for emerging voices to explore and present their work, ensuring that the company's legacy of innovation and creativity will continue to thrive.

Andrew Neisler is a Georgia-raised, New York-based theatre maker, director, and producer with a passion for collaboration, comedy, and gardening. As a director, select credits include the Off-Broadway mentalism sensation Mindplay with Vinny DePonto and Josh Koenigsberg, the immersive nightclub show Another Rose for Virgin Voyages, the new musical Folk Wandering which he co-authored with Jaclyn Backhaus, the underground critical Off-Broadway hit Clown Bar, and Drama Desk–nominated Charlatan with Ars Nova. Select producing credits with Ars Nova include the Lortel Award winning musicals Heather Christian's Oratorio for Living Things and (pray). He has spent the last twenty years devising, developing, and supporting new projects with workshops, residencies, and commissions at The Public Theater, Soho Rep, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Playwrights Horizons, The Geffen Playhouse, Ensemble Studio Theater, Primary Stages, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. He is a Co-Founder and Creative Director of the artist incubation company Fresh Ground Pepper, where he has cultivated over 750 artists in a series of development opportunities, residencies, and retreats over the past 15 years. He currently serves as an Associate Artistic Director at Ars Nova. He holds a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Anna Morton Stacey is a dramaturg and producer. A lover of new work, she has found her creative home at Ars Nova, where she is an Associate Artistic Director focusing on commission development and artistic programs. Anna has worked in the artistic departments at Roundabout Theatre Company and McCarter Theatre Center, where she developed plays Covenant by York Walker, You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz, and Gloria: A Life by Emily Mann, among other projects. Anna's dramaturgy credits include The Refuge Plays by Nathan Alan Davis (Roundabout/ New York Theatre Workshop) What the Hell is a Republic, Anyway? by Denis O'Hare and Lisa Peterson (New York Theatre Workshop), the short play collection The Migration Plays (McCarter Theatre Center), and the new musical The Precipice by Miranda Ferriss Jones, which is actively in development. She is a proud graduate of Bowdoin College.

With the recent departures of Managing Director Casey York and Producing Executive Director Renee Blinkwolt, Ars Nova will begin an immediate search for its next Managing Director, to join Neisler and Stacey on the executive team, currently led by Eagan and Interim Executive Director Preston Whiteway. Ars Nova's leadership team also includes Marketing & Community Engagement Director Kisha Jarrett, Development Director Ben Lasser, and Interim General Manager Alma Malabanan-McGrath.

Leadership and succession planning at Ars Nova has been funded in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation and the MacMillan Family Foundation.

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