WATERWELL ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF ADAM J. FRANK AS FIRST MANAGING DIRECTOR
Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Michael Jorgensen
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
WATERWELL
ANNOUNCES THE
APPOINTMENT OF
ADAM J. FRANK
AS WATERWELL’S FIRST MANAGING DIRECTOR
New York, NY (June 18, 2018) — Waterwell, the theater company who brought you Blueprint Specials on the Intrepid, the dual-language Persian Hamlet, and world-class arts education for Public School students across the city, is thrilled to announce that Adam J. Frank will serve as its first Managing Director effective immediately.
Frank comes to Waterwell as a nonprofit arts professional with an MFA in Theater Management and an MBA from Yale University. He served as Associate Managing Director of Yale Repertory Theatre, a Management Fellow at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Public Relations Manager for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Frank also worked for five years with New York’s Public Theater in several roles, focusing on audience development and marketing.
“For 15 years, Waterwell has worked with some of the most talented artists, educators, and leaders to create socially conscious and civic-minded entertainment that betters our communities. Adam J. Frank not only fits into that mold, he exemplifies it,” said Co-Founder and Interim Artistic Director Arian Moayed. “His business savvy coupled with his pursuit of changing lives through theater is palpable in every single decision he makes as a theater practitioner.”
“After an extensive nationwide search, Adam J. Frank was unanimously and enthusiastically accepted by our Board of Directors for Waterwell’s first Managing Director,” said Board President Jeanne Houck. “His interest in creating work that is accessible, responsive, and engaging through his incredible and versatile skills as a manager makes him a perfect match for Waterwell and its growing future.”
“I have loved and followed Waterwell for many years, and I could not be more thrilled to be joining the company at this time of growth and transition,” said Adam J. Frank. “I have been deeply impressed by the professionalism and vision of the artists, board, and staff during the search process and look forward to working with the whole community to build on Waterwell’s rich history and make theater that heals, provokes, and entertains.”
Adam J. Frank’s appointment is timed with Arian Moayed’s appointment as interim Artistic Director, as Tom Ridgely, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, has recently accepted a new position at Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. Moayed, Frank, and the Board of the Directors will be initiating a search for Waterwell’s Artistic Director position this Summer.
“We are so excited to have Adam join our team,” said Director of Education, Heather Lanza. “We know Adam’s passion for theater and his understanding of its importance and impact in communities is a perfect fit for Waterwell. His insight, understanding, and commitment to the non-profit theater community is exactly what we need as we dive into this exciting new phase of our company’s growth.”
BIOGRAPHIES
Adam J. Frank is an arts manager and theater-maker who has served in general management, marketing, and producing capacities at theaters and festivals on both coasts of the United States. His past experience includes positions at The Public Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Los Angeles Music Center, and Yale Repertory Theatre, where he was most recently Associate Managing Director. Frank holds an MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama and an MBA from Yale School of Management. While at Yale, he led the Nonprofit Board Fellowship program, which trains management students to become effective community leaders, and published a case study on marketing strategy at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. Prior to his graduate studies, Adam served as Marketing Manager of The Public Theater, where he led campaigns for The Public’s downtown season, the Under the Radar Festival, and Free Shakespeare in the Park.
Waterwell (Arian Moayed, Interim Artistic Director; Heather Lanza, Director of Education) is a unique ensemble of theater artists dedicated to the creation of new work and the bold re-interpretation of classics. Founded in 2002 by Arian Moayed and Tom Ridgely, the company’s special blend of music, theater, and social dialogue has been nominated for three IT awards, a Drama Desk, a New York Magazine Culture Award, and a Village Voice Best of NYC. The Voice calls them, “dynamic, resourceful and relentlessly entertaining.” And TheaterScene says, “There’s no way a written description can do justice to their blazing energy and inventiveness.” The New York Times hails the work as, “brilliant, original, and inspired. Alive enough to surprise even the performers themselves,” and TheaterMania writes, “Waterwell has staked a claim on our collective conscience.” Since 2003, Waterwell has also offered structured classes in collaborative play-making, or “devising,” the process by which the ensemble develops its material. By 2010, those educational activities had grown and coalesced into the Waterwell Drama Program, which now delivers – in partnership with the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) – top-quality, year-round, in-school theater training to over 200 NYC public school students. The program addresses the student-artist holistically, demands that they develop both as an interpreter and as a creator, and aims to place their work in dialogue with what’s going on outside the classroom – in their homes, communities, and the world at large.
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