Kate Warner leaving Dad’s Garage Theatre
February 6, 2009 at 10:22 am by Curt Holman in A&E, NewsKate Warner, artistic director of Dad’s Garage Theatre, is leaving the theater to become artistic director of the 25 year-old New Repertory Theatre in Boston. In a quick phone call last night, marketing director Linnea Frye told me that Warner will leave in April, giving her time to direct the plays Mojo (opening tonight at the Top Shelf) and The B-Team (March 13-April 4). She’ll have to be replaced for this summer’s musical boy-band mockumentary Boy Groove.
Warner was an Artistic Associate with Dad’s Garage from 2002–2004 before taking over as artistic director in 2005. At Dad’s she’s directed such plays as Debbie Does Dallas, The Rocky Horror Show, Reefer Madness, Skin, Indulgences and The Jammer. When Warner took over from Dad’s founding artistic director Sean Daniels, I wrote:
Warner is a steady, reassuring choice rather than a flashy one. She’s been an artistic associate at Dad’s since 2003 and as a director has often proved simpatico with the company’s lighthearted aesthetic. Plus, after spending almost 10 years as managing director of Theatrical Outfit, she has firsthand experience with the challenges of making theater in an often indifferent city.
Frye says that the Inman Park playhouse is putting together a search committee to identify Warner’s replacement.
Updated: After the cut, some quotes from the Dad’s Garage official press release.
During Kate’s tenure, Dad’s Garage hired Lena Carstens as managing director, tripled the size if its education program, and created a successful process for developing new work from the Dad’s Garage artistic family. Warner says “I’m very sad to move on but also very proud of how we have raised our audience’s expectations and changed how they go to the theatre. Most importantly, I’m proud to move on from Dad’s at a time when they are best positioned to take their own work to the next level.”
Lena Carstens adds “New Repertory Theatre is certainly fortunate to have Kate, and I am confident that they will benefit from the national recognition she brings. We’re a stronger theatre because of her. As we finish our company-wide strategic plan, we’re financially stable and confident that the coming years at Dad’s Garage will continue to be full of exciting and rewarding times.”
New Repertory Theatre is a professional 340-seat theater in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts (ACA) in Watertown, Massachusetts. New Rep, celebrating its 25th anniversary, is the third largest theatre in the Greater Boston Area and presents world premieres, as well as contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. New Rep annually mounts nine challenging productions that honor writers and feature over 200 highly skilled professional actors, designers, and directors from the New England theatre community, as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep is also committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. More than 40,000 people attend their performances each year, and over 14,000 students benefit from their educational programs on an annual basis. Warner will be succeeding Rick Lombardo, who has been named Artistic Director of San Jose Repertory Theatre.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Congratulations to Kate. Atlanta’s loss is definitely Boston’s gain.
Kate is not only a really wonderful person to work with, but a true professional, and a great artist.
Atlanta’s theatre community was all the better for her work here. She will be missed.