Patricia McGregor Will Be The Next Artistic Director Of New York Theatre Workshop

New York Theatre Workshop announced today that Patricia McGregor will succeed James C. Nicola as Artistic Director, following a yearlong search led by ALJP Consulting and a dedicated search committee of artists, staff and Trustees. McGregor will assume the role beginning this summer. In an effort to give the incoming Artistic Director time and space to curate their first season and immerse themselves in the community, NYTW productions have already been set through Spring 2023. McGregor's first programmed season will commence in Fall 2023. McGregor joins Jeremy Blocker, who continues in the role of Managing Director.

"I'm thrilled and honored to be named the new Artistic Director of New York Theatre Workshop," said Patricia McGregor. "The extraordinary staff, artists and audiences of the Workshop have long inspired me. The need for the arts to combat social isolation, and revive the body politic towards a more just world is acute. NYTW's dedication to dynamic work that deepens empathy and sparks wonder is vital. I look forward to centering accessibility, visibility and innovation so that more people are welcomed into this transformative community. From the hands of my magnificent friend Jim Nicola, a mighty baton has been passed. I take this task seriously and with great joy in my heart. I am ready to run my leg of the race."

Born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, McGregor is a director and writer working in theatre, film, dance and music. McGregor has twice been profiled by The New York Times for her direction of world premieres. She was inaugural Artist in Residence for Adam Driver's Arts in the Armed Forces and is an Old Globe Resident Artist. Her productions include Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole (co-writer and director; Geffen Playhouse, People's Light); Sisters in Law (Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts); Shakespeare: Call and Response, Krapp's Last Tape, What You Are, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Measure for Measure (The Old Globe); Skeleton Crew (Geffen Playhouse); Good Grief (Center Theatre Group); Hamlet (The Public Theater); Place (Brooklyn Academy of Music); The Parchman Hour (Guthrie Theater); Ugly Lies the Bone (Roundabout Theatre Company); brownsville song (Lincoln Center Theater); Indomitable: James Brown (Apollo Theater); Holding It Down (The Metropolitan Museum of Art); A Raisin in the Sun, The Winter's Tale and Spunk (California Shakespeare Theater); Adoration of the Old Woman (INTAR Theatre); Blood Dazzler (Harlem Stage); Four Electric Ghosts (The Kitchen); and the world premiere of Hurt Village (Signature Theatre Company).

McGregor served as director for HBO's emerging writer's showcase, and as tour consultant to Raphael Saadiq and J. Cole. She was Associate Director of Fela! on Broadway and for many years she has directed The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway. She co-founded Angela's Pulse with her sister, choreographer and organizer Paloma McGregor. McGregor attended SMU where she was a Presidential Scholar, and the Yale School of Drama where she was a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow and Artistic Director of Yale Cabaret.

"Patricia McGregor is a visionary artist with a long and critically-recognized career as a freelance director," said search committee co-chairs Rachel Chavkin and Noel Kirnon. "She has deep ties to the Workshop community, and the Committee was particularly struck by how she demonstrated her experience with inclusive leadership, easily connecting with a wide cross-section of our community. We were moved by her intention to carry forward NYTW's commitment to highlighting formally groundbreaking work, centering eclecticism, and valuing a director's generative vision-a torch that Jim Nicola has long carried. Patricia will deepen this work by expanding the Workshop's relationship to our neighborhood and the wider communities of New York City. We look forward to welcoming her this summer and supporting her in the months and years ahead."

"Patricia is a truly inspirational leader and internationally-recognized generative artist who has a boundless imagination and exciting aspirations for the future of New York Theatre Workshop," said NYTW Board President Kelly Fowler Hunter. "She's deeply committed to honoring and imaginatively building upon NYTW's legacy of supporting visionary artists and connecting them with the community and the world beyond. We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Patricia at the artistic helm of NYTW."

ALJP Consulting began the search process in the spring of 2021 working closely with the NYTW Search Committee to craft a thorough and thoughtful job description. After launching a nationwide search in fall 2021, their efforts yielded nearly 170 applicants, and the firm interviewed more than 50 candidates. After interviewing a small group of candidates virtually in March, the Search Committee invited finalists to NYTW in April for a series of meetings, interviews and interactions with numerous constituencies including key NYTW partners and supporters, Usual Suspects, NYTW Trustees, staff, and the NYTW Core Team, a non-hierarchical group of staff volunteers who help guide EDI work from within the organization. The Search Committee gathered feedback from all parties before careful deliberations and a final recommendation, which was then approved by the Board of Trustees.

"NYTW has been an inspiring partner in creating an inclusive and equitable process for this historic appointment," said ALJP Consulting Principal and Co-Founder Jocelyn Prince. "The highly competitive candidate pool included a diverse array of nearly 170 applicants from various social locations and artistic disciplines."

ALJP Consulting is a Black-owned, mission-driven firm that employs planning and search services to address the contemporary challenges of nonprofit organizations in the arts and culture sector. ALJP centers the values of anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion in its work with organizations and candidates. In addition to New York Theatre Workshop, ALJP Consulting has serviced numerous other arts and culture organizations nation-wide, including The American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, Center Theatre Group, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and more. Visit aljpconsulting.com for more information.

New York Theatre Workshop empowers visionary theatre-makers and brings their work to adventurous audiences through productions, artist workshops and educational programs. We nurture pioneering new writers alongside powerhouse playwrights, engage inimitable genre-shaping directors, and support emerging artists in the earliest days of their careers. We've mounted over 150 productions from artists whose work has shaped our very idea of what theatre can be, including Jonathan Larson's Rent; Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul; Doug Wright's Quills; Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde; Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla; Martha Clarke's Vienna: Lusthaus; Will Power's The Seven and Fetch Clay, Make Man; Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, A Number and Love and Information; Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's Aftermath; Rick Elice's Peter and the Starcatcher; Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová and Enda Walsh's Once; David Bowie and Enda Walsh's Lazarus; Dael Orlandersmith's The Gimmick and Forever; and eight acclaimed productions directed by Ivo van Hove. NYTW's productions have received a Pulitzer Prize, 25 Tony Awards and assorted Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards. NYTW is represented on Broadway with Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, and the upcoming Sing Street, based on the motion picture written and directed by John Carney, with a book by Enda Walsh, music and lyrics by Gary Clark & John Carney, directed by Rebecca Taichman. NYTW is also represented with the current National Tours of Hadestown and Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me, directed by Oliver Butler.

Currently in performances at NYTW is Dreaming Zenzile, based on the life of Miriam Makeba, by Grammy-nominated Vocalist/Composer Somi Kakoma (Holy Room - Live at Alte Oper; Petite Afrique; The Lagos Music Salon), directed by Obie Award winner, Tony Award nominee, NYTW Usual Suspect & former NYTW 2050 Artistic Fellow Lileana Blain-Cruz (The House That Will Not Stand, Red Speedo), co-produced with National Black Theatre. Dreaming Zenzile will open on Wednesday June 1, for a limited run through Sunday June 26, 2022.

Alongside its artistic and community engagement activities, NYTW is engaged in the essential, sustained commitment of becoming an anti-racist organization in support and affirmation of Black people, Indigenous people and People of Color in its community. In June of 2020, NYTW published its Core Values statement and initial action and accountability steps. In an effort to provide greater transparency, NYTW shares progress updates, further commitments and next steps at nytw.org/accountability.

Photo credit: Rich Soublet