Ezra Ezzard named New Managing Director of Crossroads Theatre Company

Crossroads Theatre Company has named Ezra Ezzard their new managing director, according to American Theatre.

“Through Ezra’s commitment to artistic excellence and his strategic approach to financial sustainability, he is going to bring Crossroads into a vibrant new chapter,” said artistic director Ricardo Khan in a statement. “Ezra’s strong creative point of view and passion for the theatre will ensure our legacy continues to thrive and resonate well into the future.”

Read the original story on American Theatre.

Ezra Ezzard is a graduate of Fordham University, where he was a student in the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program. He has performed works by world-renowned choreographers, Alvin Ailey, Hope Boykin, Ronald K. Brown, Jaculyn Buglisi, Christopher Huggins, Max Luna III, Freddie Moore, and Matthew Rushing. In 2006, Ezzard was a guest dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Ailey's Memoria.

Ezzard made his Carnegie Hall debut in May of 2008 with the Aeros Quintet. He served as Production Assistant of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, under the direction of world renowned Artistic Director, Judith Jamison. Ezra has performed with the Connecticut Ballet and HopeBoykin Dance. He is an proud alumni of Public Allies NY and an Emerging Leader of New York Arts Fellow. He also served as the Director of Rentals and Adult Programs at The Harlem School of the Arts, where he is responsible for increasing earned revenue and the management of the HSA Theater.

About Crossroads Theatre Company

The Crossroads Theatre Company (CTC) was founded in 1978 by Ricardo Khan (Founding Artistic Director) and L. Kenneth Richardson. Initial funding was provided by the CETA Program, Johnson & Johnson, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, NJ State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. The vision of its founders was based on the belief that Black Theater is intended for a broad base diverse audience; a mission which was fulfilled.

As a major force in the development of new ideas and the introduction of formally marginalized writers, Crossroads brought works that challenged thee notion that only one class or group of people could be represented on the American stage. Prior to the company’s emergence in 1978, rarely could there have been found dignified opportunities for artists of color to explore and practice their craft in the professional theater.

In recognition of its success Crossroads was presented with the prestigious Tony Award in 1999 as the “outstanding regional theatre in America.” This marked the first time that a predominantly black theater company had earned this award. Crossroads remains to only culturally specific regional theater to have this honor.

Though founded with the intention to explore the African Diaspora it was eventually realized that Crossroads had become central to the depiction of global interaction with the other cultures in the world. As such the “new” Crossroads sought to reach beyond the borders of face and geography, to a place where theatrical enterprise could mine the rich aesthetics and folklores of the world stage.