Erin Daley Appointed Interim Artistic Director of Primary Stages

PRIMARY STAGES has appointed Erin Daley as Interim Artistic Director of Primary Stages, following the passing of longtime Artistic Director Andrew Leynse. Daley has been with Primary Stages since 2016, serving as Associate Artistic Director since 2018. The Board will begin their search for a permanent Artistic Director later this year.

 

“We are delighted that Erin will step into this role and lead us into our next chapter,” said Executive Director Shane Hudson. “This announcement is bittersweet—Andrew’s dedication to the theater was immeasurable, and he will never be replaced. Over the years we’ve seen Erin extend the same level of care, commitment, and acumen in supporting new work and artists in all stages of their careers. We are excited to launch into our next year of new work with her at the helm, beginning with our fall production of Theresa Rebeck’s Dig at 59E59 Theaters.”

 

Erin Daley rises to the role of Interim Artistic Director at Primary Stages building upon her extensive experience and contributions to the company since 2016. Throughout her tenure, Erin has curated and produced a repertoire of 26 productions working alongside Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, while also spearheading the establishment of five groundbreaking Artistic Development Programs, helping develop dozens of new plays for the American Stage.

 

Production Highlights at Primary Stages include On That Day in Amsterdam by Clarence Coo (2 Lortel Award Nominations, 3 Drama Desk Award Nominations, Off-Broadway Alliance Award Nomination -  Best New Play); peerless by Jiehae Park (Off-Broadway Alliance Award Nomination - Best New Play); The Confession of Lily Dareby Charles Busch (3 Drama Desk Award Nominations, Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding Costume Design); Little Women by Kate Hamill; God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler (Lortel Award Nomination); Pride and Prejudice by Kate Hamill (Lortel Award Nomination, Off-Broadway Alliance Award Nomination -  Best Unique Theatrical Experience, Best of Theater 2017 - Huffington Post); Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck (Lortel Award Nomination); and Feeding the Dragon by Sharon Washinton (Lortel, Audelco, Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations).

 

Beyond her curatorial work, Erin has made significant strides in creating and supporting various Artistic Development programs that champion playwrights and respond to the needs of the industry. She founded Primary Plus, a developmental reading series aimed at fostering inclusivity among playwrights and introducing audiences to the new play process. The program has evolved to include audience engagement activities that bring together playwrights and the audiences that love them. Erin also inaugurated The Latinx Playwrights Circle as Primary Stages' first Company-in-Residence, providing crucial resources and guidance, and co-producing their Intensive Mentorship and Infinite Stores Reading Series. In response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin introduced Creative Development Grants, an innovative initiative providing financial, institutional, and artistic support for writers embarking on ambitious projects. Additionally, she commissioned four playwrights to create virtual theatrical works specifically tailored for online platforms to ensure Primary Stages continued to support and share the art of playwriting despite the industry shutdown. Through the support of the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Erin established the Echoes Writers Group in 2021, offering mentorship and community for women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming artists as they develop their unique voices. In her time at Primary, Erin’s noteworthy commissions include Morning in America, a series of 75 monologues written in response to the 2016 election, A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now by Rehana Lew Mirza, and a co-adaptation of A Christmas Carol with Theresa Rebeck.

 

Erin also leads the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer’s Group and its Fresh Ink New Play Festival, which in the last 7 years has produced over 50 new plays, many which have gone on to further development opportunities or productions. Notable playwrights and plays include Chisa Hitchinson (Whitelisted, Proof of Love, Amerikin), Susan Soon He Stanton (We, The Invisibles), Madhuri Shekar (Dhaba on Devon Avenue), Leah Nanako Winkler (God Said This, Hot Asian Doctor Husband), Benjamin Benne (Manning), Eleanor Burgess (Wife of a Salesman), Charly Evon Simpson (Sandblasted),  Rehana Lew Mirza (Four Woke Baes), Mat Smart (Eden Prairie), Elizabeth Irwin (Support), Jordan Seavey, Hilary Bettis and Liliana Padilla.

 

Erin came to Primary Stages after spending four years at The Flea in TriBeCa, where she managed a robust resident company of artists and worked on developing new plays, such as The Mysteries (featuring the work of over 50 playwrights), Wolf in the River by Adam Rapp, Smoke by Kim Davies, the place we built by Sarah Gancher, and many others. Prior to New York, she was an Allen Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage, where she produced the Eugene O'Neill Festival, and cut her teeth in film/commercial production at La Banda Films in Los Angeles. She is a proud graduate of Skidmore College and a Massachusetts native.

 

ABOUT PRIMARY STAGES

 

Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, producing, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Last year, we proudly returned to 59E59 Theaters as their Resident Off-Broadway Theater Company with our productions of Judy Gold’s Yes, I Can Say That!, Jiehae Park’s peerless, Clarence Coo’s On That Day in Amsterdam, and Karen Hartman’s New Golden Age. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 140 new plays, including Theresa Rebeck’s Poor Behavior and Downstairs (starring Tyne Daly and Tim Daly); Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice and Little Women; Billy Porter’s While I Yet Live; Charles Busch’s The Confession of Lily Dare and The Tribute Artist; Sharon Washington’s Feeding the Dragon; Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This; In Transit by James-Allen-Ford, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth (on Broadway in 2017); Horton Foote’s Dividing the Estate (two Tony nominations); Donald Margulies’ The Model Apartment (1995 premiere and 2013 revival); David Ives’ All in the Timing (original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Tanya Saracho’s Fade; Michael McKeever’s Daniel’s Husband; A.R. Gurney’s Black Tie; Terrence McNally’s Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams; Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright’s U.S. debut) and Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter’s In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland). Our productions and artists have received critical acclaim, including Tony, Obie, Lortel, AUDELCO, Outer Critics’ Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards and nominations. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the Echoes Writers Group, the Free Student Matinee Program, and the Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important—and often transformative—connections within the theater community.

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