Rachel Applegate Joins Alley Theatre as Director of Marketing and Communications

Alley Theatre Managing Director Dean R. Gladden announced today that Rachel Applegate has been appointed to join the Alley Theatre as the Director of Marketing and Communications. Rachel Applegate is currently the Chief Marketing and Community Engagement Officer for ZACH Theatre in Austin, and oversees earned revenue, brand strategy development, and community engagement initiatives. Applegate joins the Alley with more than 10 years of arts marketing and management experience. She begins at the Alley June 5.

"We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to the Alley and back to her hometown. She is an accomplished theatre marketer and strategist. We look forward to her joining us as we prepare to launch our upcoming "A-List Name and A-Plus Season," said Gladden.

Applegate was hired after the Alley Theatre conducted a national search for its next Director of Marketing and Communications. She will be responsible for overseeing the Alley Theatre's marketing and communications efforts and will also works closely with Artistic Director Gregory Boyd to represent the artistic vision of the Alley Theatre.

"I'm delighted to return to my Houston roots to work alongside the incredibly talented artists and staff at the Alley Theatre. I have long admired the Alley's work on stage and in the community, and I'm eager to promote all the Theatre does. What an honor to be joining one of the country's leading regional theatres. I look forward to rediscovering my hometown and becoming part of the Houston arts community," said Applegate.

Applegate hails from Houston, Texas and is a graduate of The Kinkaid School and Southern Methodist University. She began her career in arts as a publicist in New York City with Boneau/Bryan-Brown working on accounts such as Manhattan Theatre Club, Atlantic Theater Company, and such Broadway productions as Proof and The Music Man. She is currently the Chief Marketing and Community Engagement Officer at ZACH Theatre in Austin, Texas. Prior to ZACH Theatre, she was the Marketing Director for the performing and visual arts organization Artis-Naples in Southwest Florida, working with both producing and presenting organizations. Previously, Rachel was the Associate Director of Marketing at Arena Stage during the return to the Mead Center for American Theatre, the Marketing and Sales Manager for Signature Theatre during the move to the current theatre and the Regional Tony Award win, and the Marketing and Media Relations Associate at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, all in the Washington, DC area. Rachel has also served as an Associate Consultant with Target Resource Group (TRG), working with consultants and clients to create strategic revenue generation tools and cultivate patron loyalty.

ABOUT THE Alley Theatre: The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company led by Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. Home to a Resident Company of actors, the Alley creates a wide-ranging repertoire and innovative productions of classics, neglected modern plays, and premieres. Alley All New, the initiative to commission and develop new work year round, features the Alley All New Festival each season presenting workshops and readings of new plays and musicals in process. Additionally the Alley serves 65,000 students annually with award-winning education and community programs including in-school arts integration residencies, school tours and student matinees. A recipient of the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Alley has brought productions to Broadway, 40 American cities including New York's Lincoln Center and internationally to London, Berlin, Paris, and St. Petersburg throughout its 70 year history.

After a year-long, $46.5 million renovation during the 2014-15 season, the Alley Theatre now has one of the most technically advanced non-profit theatre complexes in the nation. With more than 450 performances in 2016-2017, the Alley will produce more shows than all other performing arts organizations in the Houston Theater District combined.

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