Labyrinth Theater Company Announces Mimi O’Donnell as Artistic Director
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
L A B Y R I N T H T H E A T E R C O M P A N Y
ANNOUNCES ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
MIMI O’DONNELL TO LEAD OFF-BROADWAY ENSEMBLE
NEW YORK, NY (April 15 2013) — The Board of Directors of Labyrinth Theater Company, the award-winning, downtown ensemble, announced today that Mimi O’Donnell, who has served as Co-Artistic Director with Stephen Adly Guirgis and Yul Vázquez since 2009, will continue to lead the Company as its sole Artistic Director beginning with the 2013-14 Season.
“Stephen, Mimi and Yul successfully transitioned from for our long-time Artistic Directors, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz,” Board Chairman Jeffrey A. Horwitz said today. “During the course of these past four seasons, the Company has grown in profound and lasting ways. We finally have a theater to call our own, we made our Tony-nominated Broadway debut, we expanded our programming both on-stage and off, and Stephen, Mimi and Yul helped build a strong foundation that will sustain our Company for years to come. Today, we are thrilled to announce that Mimi will continue the work she’s done over the past four years, leading our ensemble of passionate artists and implementing her exciting vision for the next chapter in our history. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we offer our sincerest thanks to Yul and Stephen for their years of invaluable service and look forward to working with Mimi in her new role.”
Throughout the Company’s 21-year history, Labyrinth’s artistic leadership has been a shared position filled by more than one Company Member. The change to a single, full-time Artistic Director is a reflection of the Company’s continued growth.
As a Co-Artistic Director, O’Donnell directed the World Premiere of Thinner Than Water, curated the annual Barn Series of new plays in development, and was nominated for a Tony Award as a producer for the Company’s Broadway debut of The Motherf**ker with the Hat. Her acclaimed career as a Costume Designer includes many Labyrinth productions, including The Motherf**ker With The Hat, Jack Goes Boating, The Little Flower of East Orange, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and the Off-Broadway, West End, and Donmar Warehouse productions of Jesus Hopped The A Train. Other notable productions include Modern Terrorism (Second Stage), Rapture, Blister, Burn (Playwrights Horizons), and The Blue Deep (Williamstown Theater Festival). Her film and TV credits include Jack Goes Boating, “A Gifted Man,” and four seasons as an assistant designer on Saturday Night Live.
“I will always be grateful to have had the opportunity to lead Labyrinth alongside Stephen and Yul,” Mimi said about the transition, “they are two incredibly inspiring and talented artists, both of whom have given so much of their heart and soul to the Company for far longer than the four years we served together. Personally, I’m honored to be able to expand upon the work we've done and am very excited to guide our extraordinary ensemble and vibrant institution into a new period of sustained growth. Labyrinth has been, and always will be, a vital source for New York City audiences to engage with diverse new plays, and I look forward to carrying on that important tradition in the years to come.”
Moving forward, Guirgis and Vazquez will continue to pursue their illustrious careers as a playwright and actor, respectively. They will also both join Hoffman and Ortiz in an advisory capacity at Labyrinth. Danny Feldman will continue his role as Managing Director, a position he has held since 2010.
“It's been a genuine privilege and true labor of love to be able to serve our Labyrinth family alongside Yul and Mimi these past four years,” Guirgis said about the transition, “I look forward to continuing as a company member, and I know firsthand that Mimi O'Donnell is both an excellent stage director and a great Artistic Director who will guide our company well for many years to come.”
Vazquez added “As a Founding Member of the Company, I’m so happy to see the Labyrinth tradition of artists leading artists continue. I’m very excited to watch Mimi lead us to new heights and can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Labyrinth’s upcoming World Premiere production of A Family For All Occasions, written by Bob Glaudini and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman begins performances on April 25th at the Bank Street Theater. Tickets are available at labtheater.org.
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Labyrinth Theater Company is a diverse, award-winning ensemble of artists who have changed the face of American theater through groundbreaking productions of provocative new plays. Founded in 1992 by a group of actors who wanted to push their artistic limits and tell new, more inclusive stories that expanded the boundaries of mainstream theater, Labyrinth has grown into a nationally renowned company of actors, directors, playwrights and designers from a wide array of cultural perspectives. Over the past 20 years, Labyrinth has developed hundreds of original works and premiered 57 new American plays here in New York including Jesus Hopped The A Train, Jack Goes Boating, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Our Lady of 121st Street, Where’s My Money?, Thinner Than Water, and the Company’s multi-Tony nominated Broadway debut, The Motherf**ker With The Hat.
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