Playwrights Horizons Appoints Casey York as Managing Director
Photo credit Brittany Anikka Liu
Tom O’Connor Consulting Group (TOCG) is pleased to share that Casey York has been appointed Managing Director by Playwrights Horizons (Adam Greenfield, Managing Director) in New York, NY, following our extensive national search led by Tom O’Connor.
As shared in a release from the company, Casey York is currently Managing Director of esteemed new works producer and incubator Ars Nova and serves as the President of the Off-Broadway League. Her work at Ars Nova saw her leading various teams, first as General Manager, then as Managing Director, helping sustain the organization through the tumult of the pandemic and the industry’s ensuing struggles. The Playwrights Horizons appointment is a homecoming for York, whose administrative work in the theater industry began at the institution, where she started, in 2010, as a Marketing Resident, and ultimately advanced into the position of Associate General Manager, which she held from 2011 to 2014. In addition to serving as President of the Off-Broadway League, York is also Vice President of the Association of Not For Profit Theater Companies (ANTC) and a member of Mayor Eric Adams’ inaugural Theatre and Live Performance Industry Council, in which she serves on the Workforce/Accessibility/Equity subcommittee.
In the company’s statement York shared “I’m humbled and delighted to join the leadership of Playwrights Horizons, one of our nation’s cultural treasures, and to build on Leslie Marcus’ exemplary 30-year legacy. The opportunity to return home to Playwrights, as the next Managing Director, in this pivotal moment for our industry, is an honor beyond words…I’ve devoted my whole career to supporting and advocating for new Off-Broadway theater in NYC, and I’m so excited to work with Adam Greenfield, the Playwrights Horizons Board, and the organization’s incredible, hard-working staff toward the advancement of visionary playwrights and theater-makers and the field.”
Also in the company’s statement, Adam Greenfield, Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons, shared, “In this time of seismic change in the economy and culture of theater, I feel inspired by Casey York's vision—not just for the financial and artistic well-being of Playwrights Horizons, but for the role that theater plays in a vibrant and healthy city. On a more personal note, I'm delighted by Casey's return to Playwrights. She and I started up here around the same time, some fifteen years ago, both at the beginning of our careers. As Playwrights Horizons faces a new chapter, an inflection point both inside and outside our theater's walls, we are lucky to be equipped with the strength and solidity of Leslie Marcus's longtime leadership—and with the creativity and might of Casey York's.”
TOCG’s President Tom O’Connor adds, “I could not be more pleased to see Casey York returning to Playwrights Horizons after an extremely competitive search process in which she demonstrated her prowess in navigating the path forward for the American theatre. The Off-Broadway community is already fortunate to have her leadership at the Off-Broadway League, and I am delighted that she will now get to partner with Adam, Carol, Sam, Judy, and all of the extraordinary Board and Staff at Playwrights Horizons who give so much to playwrights and to the American theatre at large.”
About Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a writer's theater dedicated to the development of contemporary American playwrights, and to the production of innovative new work. In a city rich with cultural offerings, Playwrights Horizons' 53-year-old mission is unique among theaters of its size; the organization has distinguished itself by a steadfast commitment to centering and advancing the voice of the playwright. It’s a mission that is always timely, and one that’s necessary in the ongoing evolution of theater in this country.
Playwrights Horizons believes that playwrights are the great storytellers of our time, offering essential contributions to civic discourse and illuminating life’s greatest paradoxes. And they believe in the singularity of a writer’s voice, valuing the broad, eclectic spectrum and diversity of American writers. At Playwrights Horizons, writers are supported in every stage of their growth through commissions (engaging several of today’s most imaginative playwrights each year), New Works Lab, and Almanac, the organization’s literary magazine.
Playwrights Horizons presents a season of productions annually on their two stages, each of which is a world, American, or New York premiere. Much like Playwrights Horizons’ work, their audience is risk-taking and adventurous; and the organization is committed to strengthening their engagement and feeding their curiosity through all of its programming, onsite and online.
About Tom O’Connor Consulting Group
Tom O’Connor Consulting Group (TOCG) is a NYC-based consultancy that supports arts institutions and leaders with two integrated services: organizational strategy and executive search. Consulting specialties including marketing, strategy, assessment, and organizational development. Founded in 2015, TOCG is a fully remote company with team members spanning the country and the globe.
Select clients have included Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Carnegie Hall, Cincinnati Opera, Huntington Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, Next Chapter Podcasts, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and more.
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