The Second City and Second City Theatricals will welcome Erica Daniels as Vice President, Second City Theatricals. Her new position begins April 27, 2015.
Kelly Leonard, President of Second City Theatricals and Executive Vice President of The Second City states, "Erica is a fantastic addition to the team. She is a nuanced collaborator and her relationships with talent and producers across the nation will allow us to grow our live theatrical business in new and unexpected ways."
In this newly created position, she will develop and produce a wide array of new theatrical projects in collaboration with playwrights, institutions and venues to create unique live entertainment that can travel the world.
Recent credits for Second City Theatricals include The Art of Falling in collaboration with Hubbard Street Dance; Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies with Woolly Mammoth Theatre that was nominated for Best Production by The Helen Hayes Awards in Washington, DC; The Second City's Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens, or Scrooge You! at The Goodman Theatre and Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles; as well as a number of new plays, musicals and entertainment events currently in development.
"Erica brings a level of experience and expertise that perfectly complements our Theatricals division," explains Andrew Alexander, CEO and Executive Producer for The Second City. "We've always enjoyed working with her as part of Chicago's theatre community and are thrilled to work with her in this capacity."
Most recently, Erica Daniels was Associate Artistic Director at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She joined the company in 2001 as the casting director. Erica did the original casting for Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway Presentation of Steppenwolf's Airline Highway. Previous projects include Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. She also cast the original production of August, Osage County (also for Broadway, The National Theatre of London and Sydney Theatre Company) and the Broadway production of Superior Donuts. Prior to this, Erica worked as an agent for Geddes, Arlene Wilson and Shirley Hamilton, and spent a year as The Theatre Department Coordinator at William Morris in New York. Working under George Lane, she worked with such writers as John Patrick Shanley, Richard Greenberg, and Edward Albee and directors such as Michael Mayer, Robert Falls and Daniel Sullivan. Erica began her career as a casting assistant at Jane Brody Casting. She has freelanced with various Chicago companies including Lookingglass, Collaboraction, About Face and Profiles. Erica is currently casting the Independent film Imperfections for Coin Op productions. Erica is on adjunct faculty at Ball State University. She holds a degree in Performance Studies from Northwestern.
