WaterTower Theatre Announces Terry Martin Main Stage Naming

WaterTower Theatre Artistic Director Joanie Schultz announced today the naming of "The Terry Martin Main Stage." The dedication ceremony is set for Opening Night of the company's first show of the 2018-2019 Season, A Doll's House.

The naming of WaterTower Theatre's main performance space comes after receiving a generous gift from long-time supporter Stan Graner to honor Terry Martin's 17 years of commitment to WaterTower Theatre. Martin served as the company's Producing Artistic Director until 2016. During Martin's time at WaterTower Theatre, he produced over 150 plays and directed 60 of those productions himself, casting hundreds of some of the most talented actors, designers, and directors in Dallas-Fort Worth.

"Terry Martin made WaterTower Theatre a true regional theater; he put us on the map," Stan Graner stated. "For me personally, he helped make WaterTower my theater home, and taught me how to be a better artist, as he did for so many people. I'm not sure I would've found my personal best without his tutelage, and I am forever grateful. Nobody deserves this honor more than Terry."

"If anyone's name should be on our Main Stage, it's Terry Martin. He built WaterTower Theatre and brought it from a small organization to the professional theatre it is today. I am so grateful for Stan Graner's generosity, which has given us the opportunity to honor Terry's legacy as he continues to be a part of every play we do on that stage." commented Joanie Schultz.

Joanie Schultz, the Board of Directors, and Stan Graner plan to present the dedication of "The Terry Martin Main Stage" to Martin at the opening of A Doll's House on Monday, October 15 which is the beginning of Schultz's second season as Artistic Director.

About Terry Martin

Terry Martin's long and distinguished career in the theatre has established him as one of Dallas-Fort Worth's leading actors, directors, and arts administrators. Terry took the next step in his career by assuming the position of Head of Fine Arts at Greenhill School. Before that, Terry served as WaterTower Theatre's Producing Artistic Director for 17 years. During his tenure, he placed an indelible stamp on the professional theatre scene in North Texas through his stewardship of one of the nation's fastest growing theaters. Under his leadership, the company received 129 Dallas Theatre League Leon Rabin Award nominations and 31 DFW Theatre Critics Forum Awards.

Terry's extraordinary body of work as a director at WaterTower Theatre includes a number of influential, award-winning productions such as Sexy Laundry, Full Gallop, Dogfight, The Grapes of Wrath, Putting it Together, Spring Awakening, The Diary of Anne Frank, Sweeney Todd, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Country Life, Take Me Out, Cabaret, Little Shop of Horrors, The Laramie Project, and The Crucible. He is a proud member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

He attended the University of Alabama and has trained professionally with Sanford Meisner, Fred Kareman, Wynn Handman, Sally Johnson, and Lehmann Byck.

About Joanie Schultz

Joanie Schultz has been serving as Artistic Director of WaterTower Theatre since January 2017. Most recently she directed Pride and Prejudice and Hit the Wall. Before joining WaterTower Theatre, Joanie served as Associate Artistic Producer at Victory Gardens Theater, as part of the Leadership U One-on-One Fellowship funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation administered through TCG, the national non-profit regional theatre service organization. She is also a freelance director, with recent productions at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.), The Cleveland Play House, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Victory Gardens Theater. She was a Drama League Fellow, The Goodman Theatre Michael Maggio Director Fellow, the SDSF Denham Fellow, and Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab participant. She is an ensemble member at Steep Theatre, Artistic Associate at Victory Gardens Theater, and artistic cabinet member at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. Joanie has also served on faculty at Columbia College and University of Chicago. She received her BA in Theatre/Directing at Columbia College and her MFA in Theatre Directing from Northwestern University.

About WaterTower Theatre:

Founded in 1996, WaterTower Theatre (WTT) is one of Texas' leading professional theatre companies and one of the flagship arts institutions in North Texas, having played an important role as a leader in developing new talent and encouraging the growth of the DFW artistic community through its commitment to hiring local artists. Led by Artistic Director Joanie Schultz and Managing Director Nicholas Even, it is consistently recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, DFW Theatre Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 24,000 patrons annually.

WaterTower Theatre is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. WaterTower Theatre relies on its ticket income and generous donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government organizations to produce world-class live professional theatre and to offer community engagement and arts education programs. WaterTower Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of the Town of Addison, The Shubert Foundation, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. WaterTower Theatre's 2018-2019 Season is also supported, in part, through the generosity of its Producers Circle, including civic, corporate, and foundation donors AMLI Residential, Atmos Energy, FASTSIGNS Carrollton, Frost Bank, Pinnacle Family of Companies, Slalom, Veritex Community Bank, Whole Foods, and individual donors Don and Barbara Daseke, The Bob Downs Family, Stan Graner and Jim McBride, Janiece and Jimmy Niemann, Karol Omlor, Paul and Norma Schultz, and Deborah and Craig Sutton.

To post a comment, you must register and login.