Eric Rosen
Award-winning playwright ERIC ROSEN, Kansas City Repertory Theatre's new artistic leader, is only the fourth artistic director in the 44-year history of the theatre. In Chicago, he was artistic director of the nationally recognized About Face Theatre, which he co-founded in 1995. Acknowledged as being at the forefront of the American theatre scene, Rosen brings to the Rep his passion for new work and plans to continue producing the work of innovative artists whose works have brought new life to the American stage. Rosen also would like to continue the collaborative relationships he established with Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Goodman Theatre, both nationally prominent theatres, and other leading Chicago-based institutions. Rosen is a successful collaborator who has fostered invigorating new projects of some of the country's top playwrights, directors, actors and artists. His hip-hop musical Clay, which he created with performer Matt Sax and which opened to acclaim at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles in October, is expected to open on a New York stage in 2008. Rosen also collaborated on Doug Wright's highly regarded play I am My Own Wife at About Face; its Broadway production won a Pulitzer Prize, multiple Tony Awards and other major theatre honors and was the most produced play in the country in 2006. In addition to his writing and directing, Rosen is a noted dramaturg who has worked on productions at Sundance Institute Theatre Labs. At Kansas City Rep, Rosen previously directed two of the theatre's most critically acclaimed productions. His staging of Mary Zimmerman's Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses, in which actors performed in a pool of water on stage, was a hit for the theatre and his fresh interpretation of Horton Foote's family-friendly classic The Trip to Bountiful was a critical success. Both productions brought new audiences to the Rep, helping to expand its base of support. Rosen earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in performance studies from Northwestern University where he worked in close collaboration with the Tony Award-winning directors Mary Zimmerman and Frank Galati. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a Human Rights Campaign Community Leadership Award and a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)/Theatre Communication Group (TCG) Career Development Fellowship for Directors. He has also twice served as a theatre panel member for the NEA and has participated in the TCG/ Pew Charitable Trust's National Theatre Artists Residency Program. Rosen has taught at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Brooklyn College. Bio as of November, 2009. American Theatre Wing programs, interviews and/or credits include: Working in the Theatre (video) Regional Theatre - October, 2009 - Watch now. Internet Broadway Database Listing (IBDB.com)