Dad’s Garage taps new artistic director Kevin Gillese

Dad’s Garage announced last February that then artistic director Kate Warner would be leaving the neighborhood theater staple in April 2009 to become artistic director of Boston’s New Repertory Theatre. In June, Curt Holman’s CL cover story on the playhouse’s changing lineup asked, “Can Dad’s Garage bridge the generation gap in its second decade?” The answer to that question may not be far off. Dad’s Garage announced today that its search for artistic director has come to an end: Kevin Gillese, current artistic director of sister theater Rapid Fire Theatre in Edmonton, AL, Canada, has been tapped to fill the vacancy.

From the press release:

Kevin’s background includes improvisation, theatre and video work and his core strengths include ensemble growth and development, collaborative creation and the production of new and original work across multiple disciplines. “In addition to Kevin’s talent and intellect, he’s a whole lot of fun to be around,” said Managing Director, Lena Carstens. “In a time when we are presenting all new and original work, we’ll benefit from having fresh perspective from someone who’s already in the Dad’s family…even if he has been a distant cousin north of the border.”