Kit Ingui to Join Williamstown Theatre Festival as Managing Director, Operations & Advancement

Kit Ingui will depart Long Wharf to join Williamstown Theatre Festival as Managing Director, Operations & Advancement. Ingui will begin her new role at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in November, replacing Eric Gershman who has been serving as Interim Managing Director, Operations & Advancement since the start of the year.

As Managing Director, Operations & Advancement, Ingui will be responsible for translating WTF’s vision for the future into a sustainable action plan as the storied organization enters a new chapter that will build a vibrant Festival destination in the Williamstown community. She will work in partnership with Raphael Picciarelli, WTF’s Managing Director, Strategy & Transformation as he works alongside the Festival’s newly formed Creative Collective led by Creative Director Jeremy O. Harris, to ensure the Festival’s tradition of breaking boundaries with diverse programming and creating new opportunities for emerging artists continues for the next 70 years and beyond. 

Ingui said, “Regional theaters are at a crucial moment to captivate new audiences and re-establish performing arts as a cornerstone of culture, and both Williamstown Theatre Festival and Long Wharf Theatre are shining examples of this creative, transformative work. I am thrilled to foster new relationships and execute new ideas in partnership with Raphael Picciarelli for the community of Williamstown Theatre Festival and look forward to cheering on my colleagues and friends in New Haven, especially my visionary partner of five years Jacob G. Padrón.”

Margaret Gould Stewart, Chair of the Board of Trustees for WTF, said, “Kit’s reputation as a leader in the regional theater community is unparalleled. Her ability to see what possibilities could exist for the future is inspiring. She will be a tireless champion for the Festival as well as the artists and the people who give the Festival life. I look forward to working with her alongside my fellow board members, Raph, and the Creative Collective led by Jeremy O. Harris to build an inspired future for this cherished cultural institution that breaks new ground for the American theater.” 

Picciarelli said, “It's so thrilling to arrive at a key milestone in our journey of transformation with the rounding out of our leadership team. We knew that in order to successfully implement a new collective leadership model, we needed a Co-Managing Director who is a true collaborator and an innovator in the field. Kit's trailblazing work at Long Wharf has been the talk of the American theater, and it's exactly the type of bold visionary transformation that we're after. I cannot wait to partner with Kit as we realize an ambitious future for Williamstown Theatre Festival in the years to come.”

Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre said, “It has been a joy and privilege to be on the journey with Kit. She has been a crucial partner to me over the last five years, and I am deeply grateful for her collaboration, integrity, and grit. Long Wharf Theatre is stronger today because of her many contributions, and the legacy of her work here will live on for years to come. We wish her the best and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in her new role at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.”

Since joining Long Wharf in 2017, Ingui has been an unwavering steward of that theater’s promise of being a theater for all. She has been a dedicated partner to Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón and was instrumental in transitioning the organization to its innovative new model that brings performances and programming to venues across the city of New Haven. Her dedication to engaging the theater’s existing audiences while also investing in its growth to reach new audiences through unique partnerships resulted in a dynamic production of The Year of Magical Thinking at residences and gathering spaces across the region and the development of a robust partnership with Southern Connecticut State University. Padrón set a bold vision of strengthening equity, inclusion, and connection at every level of the organization. Ingui worked to carry out this vision by eliminating the company’s accumulated deficit, successfully guiding the organization financially through the pandemic, supporting cultural transformation, and improving the minimum rate of pay for employees of Long Wharf Theatre by more than 40%.

A national search for the Managing Director, Operations & Advancement position at Williamstown Theatre Festival was facilitated by the Tom O’Connor Consulting Group and a search committee that included WTF artists, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees.

Kit Ingui

(she/her) joined Long Wharf Theatre in 2017 as Associate Managing Director and was promoted to Managing Director in October 2019. Before her time at Long Wharf, she was an Associate General Manager for Joey Parnes Productions (JPP) in New York City. With JPP, Ingui also company managed the Broadway productions of This Is Our Youth, the Off-Broadway transfer of Satchmo at the Waldorf, the 2014 Tony Award-winning musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, the 2013 Tony Award-winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and End of the Rainbow starring Tracie Bennett. Prior to JPP, Ingui worked with legendary Broadway producer Elizabeth I. McCann and Joey Parnes on the 2009 Tony Award-winning revival of HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, Passing Strange, Butley starring Nathan Lane, Lisa Kron’s Well, and the national tour of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin. Ingui served in the producing offices of the Tony Awards from 2006 to 2008; the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Drama Desk Awards; and was Co-Line Producer for the 2015 and 2016 Drama Desk Awards. Before shifting to commercial theater, Ingui worked at numerous non-profit theaters in New York City, including Vineyard Theatre, Classic Stage Company, and Playwrights Horizons. Her professional theater career began as a scenic carpenter with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival in Atlanta. Ingui served on the Board of Directors for Theatre Forward from 2019-2023 (Vice President, 2021-2023) and is a member of the advisory board for Southern Connecticut State University’s Arts Administration and Cultural Advocacy program. She graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL and is a proud member of the Association for Theatrical Press Agents & Managers (ATPAM).  

Photo credit: Lotta Studio 

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