Jim Petosa, new A.D. at New Rep.

Jim Petosa, currently the artistic director at Olney Theatre Center outside of Washington, D.C., has been named the new artistic director for New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Mass. Petosa will finish out the 2012 season at Olney before working full-time in his new position August 1.

NEW REPERTORY THEATER NAMES NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JIM PETOSA

[WATERTOWN, MA, February 8, 2012] – Today, New Repertory Theatre names Jim Petosa, nationally-known, award-winning theatre artist, educator, and leader as its new Artistic Director.

After a nation-wide search, New Rep Board Chair Daniel Newton says, “I am excited that New Rep is bringing on board such an eminently qualified, visionary leader as Jim Petosa for this critical role. As a guest director at New Rep, Jim has been involved with our artistic family for years. I am confident he will ensure the continued production of the highest quality theatre our audiences have come to expect.”

Petosa served as Artistic Director of Olney Theatre Center outside of Washington D.C. (Montgomery County, MD) since 1994. High notes of his tenure include expanding the company from a summer theatre to year-round; growing the company into a theater-center campus, including a new theatre lab and amphitheatre; and earning many local, regional, and national awards for the institution and his directing, including the Helen Hayes Award. He will finish out Olney’s 2012 Season.

Additionally, Petosa will continue to serve as Director of the School of Theatre, College of Fine Arts, at Boston University, a position he has held since 2002. In this role, he also established the Boston Center for American Performance, the professional production extension of BU’s School of Theatre.

While Petosa’s New Rep appointment officially begins August 1, he says, “I’ll become involved immediately in the remainder of New Rep’s current season, as well as plans for the 2012-2013 upcoming season. Every day is an opportunity to share ideas and build relationships.”

Petosa plans to encourage “an era of collaboration that strengthens New Rep. He says, “It’s an exciting time for regional theatre in our country. We need to examine current models and make them relevant for the future. I have an incessant belief in the power and possibility of the theatre, and a deep desire to foster dialogues of discovery that continue advocating for its relevance and meaning.”

“Having directed three productions in three years at New Rep,” he continues, “I came to understand the organization’s commitment to quality, intelligence, and revealing human truths through thoughtful story-telling.” Petosa most recently directed Three Viewings this season, called “compelling” by The Boston Globe.

“I am truly looking forward to partnering with Jim,” says Managing Director Harriet Sheets. “Since his directorial debut of Opus with us in 2010, he has proven to be an effective team-player. With Jim, I expect to develop an inviting creative home for our artists.”

New Rep plans to celebrate the announcement of its 2012-2013 season next month at its Premiere Party, where patrons may personally meet Petosa.

ABOUT JIM PETOSA, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Jim Petosa, an award-winning theater artist, educator, and leader, has been Director of the School of Theatre, College of Fine Arts, at Boston University since 2002 as well as Artistic Director of Maryland’s Olney Theatre Center for the Arts and its National Players educational touring company since 1994. He also serves as one of three Artistic Directors for the Potomac Theatre Project in Manhattan (originally in Washington, D.C.), dedicated to producing political works.

During his tenure at Olney, he expanded the company from a summer theatre to year-round; grew the company into a theater-center campus, including a new theatre lab and amphitheatre; and earned numerous local, regional, and national awards both for the institution and his directing. While at BU, he established the Boston Center for American Performance, the professional production extension of the Boston University School of Theatre in 2009.

Throughout the Northeast, Petosa has directed countless plays for numerous institutions. For New Repertory Theatre, he directed Three Viewings (2011), The Last Five Years (2011), and Opus (2010).

Petosa has served on the faculty of the Catholic University of America, the University of Maryland College Park, and the Heifetz International Music Institute at St. John’s College. He has been a visiting professor at Middlebury College, an artist-in-residence at George Washington University, and a guest artist at Georgetown University, Wolf Trap, and the Smithsonian Institution.

In Boston, his work was nominated for two Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) awards for A Question of Mercy at Boston Center for American Performance (2010). In Maryland, his work earned over 25 Helen Hayes Award nominations as well as the award for outstanding direction of a musical for Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well…; his production of Look! We Have Come Through! was nominated for the Charles MacArthur Award for outstanding new play. He earned the Montgomery County Executive’s Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Artist/Scholar (in Maryland) as well as Maryland Theatre Association’s Award for Theatre Education.

A member of Actors’ Equity Association, Petosa has served on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Catalyst Theatre, and the advisory board Playwrights Forum. Petosa studied drama, theatre history, and criticism both as an undergrad and graduate student at Catholic University of America. He resides in Quincy, MA.

For more info about New Repertory Theatre, please visit www.newrep.org