Chester Theatre Company Names New Co-Artistic Directors, Christopher Baker and Michelle Ong-Hendrick
Baker and Ong-Hendrick replace outgoing Co-Artistic Directors James Barry and Tara Franklin.
Christopher Baker and Michelle Ong-Hendrick have been appointed as the new Co-Artistic Directors of Chester Theatre Company, effective immediately. Baker and Ong-Hendrick replace outgoing Co-Artistic Directors James Barry and Tara Franklin. Baker and Ong-Hendrick bring a track record of outstanding artistry in theatres and universities across the country and will continue Chester Theatre Company's 35 year long tradition of exceptional theatre. Charles Johnson, Board Chair says: “The decision to bring on Chris and Michelle as Chester Theatre Company's next Co-Artistic directors is indicative of the experience and enthusiasm they both bring to our company. We are very much looking forward to working with them and to continuing to support all the artists who spend the summer with us. We thank Tara and James for their artistry and commitment to quality theatre they brought to Chester over the past two years.”
About Christopher Baker:
Christopher Baker is a dramaturg, playwright, director and teacher with over 30 years' experience in regional, Off-Broadway and academic theatre. From 1998 to 2013 he was a member of the artistic staff at Hartford Stage, serving in various capacities, including Associate Artistic Director, Associate Producer and Senior Dramaturg.
Baker's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice broke box office records at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis. Produced at schools and theaters across the United States and Canada, Pride and Prejudice is published by Broadway Publishing Company and premiered at Center Stage in Baltimore. His play The Lincoln Vaudeville was produced at the Hartt School and Trinity College and was workshopped at Center Stage, Baltimore. His play for children, Calliope Jam, premiered at The Alley Theatre.
His recent work as a dramaturg includes the North American premiere and tour of David Seidlers' The King's Speech, Horton Foote's The Roads to Home at Primary Stages (New York) and Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana at the American Repertory Theater. He was also the dramaturg for Off-Broadway productions of Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore and Foote's The Orphans' Home Cycle. He has been a dramaturg at Hartford Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company and The Alley Theatre.
Baker has directed numerous productions, including Oleanna, Calliope Jam and A Christmas Carol (Alley Theatre); Beauty and the Beast (PlayMakers Repertory); the short operas The Gold Standard, Krispy Kremes and Butter Queens and The Lifespan of a Fly (Hartford Opera Theatre); and Orestes (University of North Carolina).
Baker says: “Chester Theatre Company is a very special place. The work I have seen there has been outstanding. The opportunity to explore contemporary plays with a close community of collaborators and Chester's remarkable audience is an honor”
About Michelle Ong-Hendrick:
Michelle Ong-Hendrick has staged the operas La Traviata for Pan Opera; Albert Herring, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, The Enchanted Child, Noye's Fludde and The Elixir of Love, Cendrillon, The Marriage of Figaro, HMS Pinafore, Suor Angelica, The Lantern Marriage, She Loves Me, Bessie and Ma and Dido and Aeneas for the University of Connecticut: The Rape of Lucretia, Trouble in Tahiti, The Telephone, Hand of Bridge, Hansel and Gretel, The Old Maid and the Thief, Der Schauspieldirektor, Bastien und Bastienne, and the world premiere of Tom Sawyer for Hartford Opera Theater; Le mariage aux lanternes and the East Coast premiere of The Three Hermits for the Hartt School; Le mariage aux lanternes and Les bavards for the Intermezzo Opera Festival. She also directed the plays Eurydice and Romeo and Juliet at Trinity College and eight short new operas for Hartford Opera Theater's New in November Festival. In addition to being Stage Director of UConn Opera Theater, she is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Trinity College and from 1998 to 2008 was an Associate in Opera at the Hartt School/University of Hartford. She has also been a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Massachusetts and has taught workshops at the Intermezzo Opera Festival, the International School of the Philippines, Central Connecticut State University and Hartford's Trust House. She was founding Artistic Director of Hartford Opera Theater from 2008 to 2012. Her professional work as an actress includes roles in A Christmas Carol, Macbeth, The Threepenny Opera, The Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, Cymbeline, As You Like It, The Laramie Project, A Little Night Music, Eracism, and Arcadia at Hartford Stage, TheatreWorks, Playmakers Repertory Company, and the Ko Festival among others. Ms. Ong-Hendrick earned a BA from the University of Massachusetts and an MFA from the University of North Carolina, Professional Acting Training Program.
Ong-Hendrick says: “This gem of a theatre is unique. I look forward to continuing to build on Chester Theatre Company's long history of working with artists that bring new perspectives to our audiences.”
Outgoing artistic director James Barry adds “Tara and I will miss shepherding this incredible theatre company and we look ahead with great anticipation to what Chris and Michelle will bring to the company.”
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