Astoria Performing Arts Center Announces New Artistic Director

The Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Wojtunik as Artistic Director. Wojtunik, who last year directed Proof for APAC, brings a wealth of talent and experience plus an influx of humor, passion for storytelling, generosity and inspiration to the new season line-up.

The executive director, Taryn Drongowski, is delighted about the new appointment: "Tom is bringing an exciting vision to APAC" she states. "With his strong leadership, APAC will have an even greater commitment to supporting writers and incubating new works of theatre. I am looking forward to seeing what his vision will do for APAC over time and the impact that it could have on theater in the borough of Queens and beyond."

Wojtunik, who has lived in Astoria for the past five years, remarks: "I am committed to continuing the tradition of high quality theatre and entertainment that APAC audiences have come to expect. I am floored by how supportive the Astoria community is to APAC--it's clear they believe a local professional theatre is vital. Programming a season is a great responsibility and I look forward to beginning this dialogue with APAC audiences--a dialogue that takes shape through the work we put on our stages. I am eager to produce relevant plays and musicals that resonate with our audience, but new work will now be a major facet of future programming as well."

The 2008-2009 season will include the inclusion of new work to APAC's regular programming. Wojtunik will premiere The 15/20s: Staged Readings of New Works, introducing APAC audiences to the development process and paving the way for new work in the regular mainstage programming. The 15/20s will be produced under the AEA Staged Reading Guidelines, which allows 15 hours of combined rehearsal and performance time for actors (20 hours for musicals), hence the name The 15/20s.

The 15/20s first annual series begins in October, presenting four new plays commencing with Woyzeck: Homecoming by Eric Henry Sanders, directed by Wojtunik, on Wednesday, October 8th. The series will also include End of Land by Kathleen Warnock, The Patient River by Kevin Brofsky, and Sans Merci by Johnna Adams, which was awarded the 2008-09 Reva Shiner Award and was a 2006 finalist for the Princess Grace Award.

APAC's seventh season will kick-off in February with Ragtime, the epic musical by the award-winning composer/lyricist team Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and book writer Terrence McNally. Wojtunik, who will direct, says, " The spirit of unfailing optimism that permeates the characters in this story, even in the midst of a country faced with enormous changes, feels more vital today than it did when it first opened on Broadway ten years ago." In May APAC will produce Lillian Hellman's controversial masterpiece The Children's Hour, directed by Jessi D. Hill, recipient of the 2008/09 Denham Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

BIOGRAPHIES

Tom Wojtunik (Artistic Director) has been in New York City since 1997, and in Astoria for the last five years. He had the pleasure of directing Proof for APAC in 2007 prior to being named Artistic Director. New York directing credits include: Man of La Mancha, Six Degrees of Separation, Urinetown (NY IT Award Best Musical), Take Me Out (The Gallery Players); The Play About the Naked Guy and Edenville (NY IT Nominee - Best Director, Emerging Artists Theatre); The Miss Education of Jenna Bush (FringeNYC, Best Solo Show & Audience Favorite); Rum and Vodka and The Good Thief (Prospect St. Productions); I'm in Love with Your Wife (Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival); and workshops of David's Play and Bella Via (Ensemble Studio Theatre). Tom served as a 2007/2008 Resident Director at Ensemble Studio Theatre, where he was an Associate Producer on the 2008 Marathon of One-Act Plays. He was an Associate Casting Director at Charles Rosen Casting, produced the 2002 Festival of New Musicals for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and served as Artistic Director of NeoPack, a theatre company focused on new work, from 2001-2004. BFA: Marymount Manhattan College. Member: SSDC, Lincoln Center Directors' Lab, Emerging Artists Theatre.

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER was founded in 2001 by actress Susan Scannell as an Off-Off Broadway theater company that complements main-stage productions with community programming, including writing and performance programs for Queens youth and senior citizens. APAC's 2004 production of Is There Life After High School? was recognized with an Off-Off Broadway Review Award. APAC's 2006 production of Forever Plaid was honored with three New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations, in the categories of Production, Direction, and Choreography. Our productions of A New Brain, Proof and Triumph of Love received nominations for Outstanding Set Design and most recently Triumph of Love also received two more nominations, Best Musical and Best Actress, Abby Baum. For more information about APAC, including a downloadable media kit, visit www.apacny.org.

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