Executive Director Erika Mallin to Step Down After 10 Years at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre Board Chairman Edward Norton and incoming Board President Nina Matis announced today that Executive Director Erika Mallin will step down from the company after 10 years to pursue new opportunities. Signature will embark on a national search for its next Executive Director. Mallin will continue to provide transition support to the Board and staff through the end of this year.

Under Mallin's leadership as Executive Director, Signature Theatre has become one of the country's preeminent theatre companies. Mallin, alongside Founding Artistic Director James Houghton, led the company's transition to the Frank Gehry-designed Pershing Square Signature Center, the largest new theatre center in New York City in nearly 50 years. She shepherded the construction of the Center, working with the city of New York and Related Cos. to bring this public/private partnership to life. Signature has tripled in size during Mallin's tenure, producing 6-8 plays a year through its three distinct residency programs, and has continued to democratize access to theatre through the groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative. In 2014, Mallin and Houghton accepted the Regional Theatre Tony Award on behalf of Signature.

Executive Director Erika Mallin said, "I love to make big things happen and Signature, with its bold mission and ambitious aspirations, has been the perfect place to do that. I'm incredibly proud to have shepherded the building of The Pershing Square Signature Center and to have helped Signature become the vibrant and accomplished institution it is. Over the last 10 years, it has been my privilege to work with so many iconic artists and passionate supporters and to partner with Jim, Paige, and our wonderful Board and staff."

Chairman Edward Norton said, "Having vision is one thing...but to take visions and dreams and wrestle them into actual form and shape and functioning reality is the work that takes the most courage. Signature Theatre and especially The Pershing Square Signature Center would just have been dreams over coffee without the heroic work of Erika Mallin. She navigated our dream to shore when it could have wrecked on the rocks at least a dozen times but for her determination, acumen and relentless hard work. My gratitude and admiration for her is boundless."

Incoming Board President Nina Matis said, "Signature is a different company now than it was 10 years ago, and much of the credit for its tremendous growth and success this past decade must go to Erika Mallin. Watching her navigate the construction of the Center and expansion of operations, I was impressed by her intellect, strategic savvy, and leadership. Signature will miss her, but I look forward to seeing where she will make an impact next."

Signature's Artistic Director Paige Evans said, "It has been a true pleasure to lead Signature Theatre alongside Erika Mallin over the past year. Erika has been a tireless advocate for this company and for our art form. Everyone at Signature is grateful for her immense contributions."

Signature Theatre celebrates playwrights and gives them an artistic home. By producing multiple plays by each resident writer, Signature offers an in-depth look at their bodies of work.

Founded in 1991 by James Houghton, Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright's body of work. During this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. By producing an in-depth exploration of a playwright's body of work, Signature delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright's singular vision. In 2014 Signature became the first New York City theatre to receive the Regional Theatre Tony Award®.

Signature serves its mission through its permanent home at The Pershing Square Signature Center, a three-theatre facility on West 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects to host Signature's three distinct playwrights' residencies and foster a cultural community. At the Center, opened in January 2012, Signature continues its founding Playwright-in-Residence model as Residency One, a first-of-its-kind, intensive exploration of a single writer's body of work. Residency Five, the only program of its kind, was launched at the Center to support multiple playwrights as they build bodies of work by guaranteeing each writer three productions over a five-year period. The Legacy Program, launched during Signature's 10th Anniversary, invites writers from both residencies back for productions of premiere or earlier plays.

The Pershing Square Signature Center is a major contribution to New York City's cultural landscape and provides a venue for cultural organizations that supports and encourages collaboration among artists throughout the space. In addition to its three intimate theatres, the Center features a Studio Theatre, a rehearsal studio, and a public café, bar and bookstore. Through the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, Signature has also made an unprecedented commitment to making its productions accessible by underwriting the cost of initial run tickets, currently priced at $30, through 2031.

Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Will Eno, Horton Foote, María Irene Fornés, Athol Fugard, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, David Henry Hwang, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Tony Kushner, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, Naomi Wallace, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, and a season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company. Stephen Adly Guirgis and Suzan-Lori Parks are the current Residency One playwrights. Signature's current Residency Five playwrights are Annie Baker, Martha Clarke, Katori Hall, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Kenneth Lonergan, Dominique Morriseau, and ReGina Taylor. In addition to the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Signature's productions and its resident writers have been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel Awards, Obie Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions.