Working Theater Names Laura Carbonell Monarque Producing Artistic Director

Drama Desk and AUDELCO award-winning off-Broadway company Working Theater has named Laura Carbonell Monarque to serve as Producing Artistic Director in advance of the company's 37th season. Monarque will succeed co-Artistic Directors Tamilla Woodard, recently named Chair of Acting at Yale School of Drama, and Mark Plesent, who led the Company for 27 years until his passing in February.

Laura's tenure at Working Theater began with an internship in 2003 under the guidance of Plesent. She quickly grew within the Company to Director of Marketing and Special Events and worked alongside Plesent and former Artistic Directors Connie Grappo and Robert Arcaro. She was named Managing Director in 2010. Laura has been actively involved in growing the company for the past 18 years by procuring funding and initiating new partnerships to support signature programs such as Five Boroughs/One City -- a collaborative, community-based theater development and production initiative that is rooted in neighborhoods in each of the five boroughs of New York, and the Company's educational program TheaterWorks, that teaches playwriting and performance skills to working adults.

As a theater maker, actor and musician, Laura has worked nationally at institutions including Portland Center Stage, Arena Stage, and Cleveland Play House. She and her husband Steve Monarque produce independent work with their company MonaVision Films. Laura holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Laura takes the helm at Working Theater at a time of organizational growth and transition within the company. The addition of Tamilla Woodard to the leadership team has resulted in fruitful new partnerships and innovative new production practices.

With 18 years of institutional knowledge, Laura is uniquely poised to continue expanding on Working Theater's recent growth, and brings an excitement to uncover new stories, forge new partnerships, and create new avenues of access for audiences across New York to her new role. Laura will be supported by a team that includes Business Manager Kylee Brinkman and Marketing & Media Manager Coryn Carson.

Current co-Artistic Director Tamilla Woodard will move into the position of Artistic Advisor, and will continue to work alongside Laura to oversee the Company's Five Boroughs/One City Initiative and the Mark Plesent Commission Fund.

"Working Theater has been my home for nearly two decades and I'm honored to take on the task of moving the mission forward at a critical juncture in the history of our industry. I can't wait to meet our audiences in the theater again, and share new stories for the stage -- stories that fill us with hope and joy, stories that move our hearts and unite us. It is my privilege to carry on Working Theater's grand mission to serve our communities with great theater that is available and accessible to all."

Working Theater's 37th Season will kick off with the development of two new plays commissioned through the Mark Plesent Commission Fund, which supports the commission and development of new plays by working people. The Company begins its direct access educational program TheaterWorks! in the summer of 2021.

Full season programming will be announced in the coming months.

"For years, Laura has been intimately involved in every aspect of the Company's growth and her ascension to this critical role at the helm is the logical progression of her own development. We look forward to unleashing her artistic passion in furtherance of the Working Theater mission to tell the stories of workers at ticket prices working people can afford." Bill Henning, President of the Board of Working Theater.

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