Anne D'Zmura Named New Artistic Director of Cal Rep

California Repertory Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Anne Justine D'Zmura as Artistic Director and Department Chair of Theatre Arts, beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year. D'Zmura previously served as Head of Directing at Cal State Long Beach and recently directed the Cal Rep's acclaimed production of The Thugs.

As part of her tenure at CSULB, D'Zmura established an on-going community-based arts and performance course in Tanzania, Africa in collaboration with Karimu International Help Foundation, and she developed a course in Dublin and Galway, Ireland, which is taught each year.

D'Zmura is looking to increase the Theatre Arts Department's community presence through new engagement and sustainability initiatives that will be inaugurated during the 2013-2014 season. "We are on a threshold of moving more actively into our community and starting to passionately invest in new and existing partnerships, as well as continuing to expand our international programs to provide our students and community members greater opportunities to participate in interNational Theatre and socially enhancing initiatives," she states. "I am interested in deepening our collaborations with local and global community members and artists, developing structures to better support new play development and strengthening the bridge between educational and professional arts enterprises. I believe theatre can serve as a strong vehicle for positive social change and I am committed to listening to and nurturing our next generation of active and engaged theater artists."

Anne Justine D'Zmura has served as resident director at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis where she directed Peer Gynt, Bert's Folly, Billy and Dago, and Poster of the Cosmos; artistic associate for the NYC-based The Acting Company where she directed national tours of Macbeth and The Tempest; artistic associate for The Playwrights' Center and co-artistic director for Yale Cabaret. She has served as artist in residence at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and Center for Arts in Society; visiting assistant professor at Denison University; and recurring guest director and educator at The Juilliard School, University of Minnesota MFA program, USD/Old Globe Theatre, University of Redlands, and University of Michigan. Additional directing credits include numerous productions at South Coast Repertory, A Noise Within, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, California Repertory Company, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and The Cricket Theatre. Anne is the recipient of a National Endowment for The Arts/TCG Directing Fellowship, with which she studied in Bali, Indonesia; a New York Drama League: New Works/New Directors Grant; and numerous CSULB grant awards for her international work in ecology and community-based theatre. She has presented her work on Theatre and Ecology at IDEA in Brazil, IUTA in England, and Earth Matters on Stage in Eugene, Oregon. Her work is published in Readings in Performance and Ecology by Palgrave MacMillan. She serves on CSU Summer Arts Advisory Board and CSULB Global Studies Institute Advisory Board among others. She received a BA from Hampshire College and her MFA in Directing from Yale School of Drama. Member SDC and SAG.

The California State University, Long Beach Theatre Department is home to a diverse student, staff, and faculty population and houses three producing entities - California Repertory Company aboard the Queen Mary, our graduate arm; Undergraduate Productions in the CSULB Studio and Players Theatres; and Theatre Threshold, a laboratory company for student initiated and produced coursework with weekly performances in Theatre Arts Studio 24/26. Cal Rep and UP present ten mainstage productions a season. For more information about our offerings, visit www.calrep.org or call 562-985-4500.

To post a comment, you must register and login.