Monk Parrots Welcomes New Co-Artistic Directors

Monk Parrots has announced that company members Jessie Dean and John Smiley will join co-founders Luke Landric Leonard and Joey LePage at the helm of the multidisciplinary theatre company as Co-Artistic Directors.

Dean and Smiley will step into their positions immediately as Monk Parrots begin to prepare their next fearless season of New York premieres. In their new roles as Co-Artistic Directors, Dean and Smiley will develop and produce text-driven plays while Leonard and LePage will continue to manage devised and music-theatre works. Monk Parrots 2017-2018 Season will include new plays by Gabriel Jason Dean, Kirk Lynn, et al.

Jessie Dean is a theatre-maker originally from Atlanta, Georgia who has been an Artistic Associate with Monk Parrots for almost five years, acting and working behind the scenes on Monk Parrot's After an Earlier Incident (La MaMa), Bum Phillips: All-American Opera (La MaMa), and Welcome to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (59E59 Theaters). Apart from acting and directing, Jessie also founded and was the Co-Artistic Director for her own theatre company in Atlanta, Relativity Theatre Concern, and was The Managing Director for Dad's Garage Theatre prior to that. She received her MFA in Classical Acting, is currently working on a novel, and is also helping develop a new musical with The Civilians.

JOHN SMILEY is an ambitious theatrical provocateur who has been an Artistic Associate with Monk Parrots since 2014 and appeared in their productions of Bum Phillips: All-American Opera (La MaMa) and Welcome to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (59E59 Theaters). Most recently he was seen onstage at Columbia University in the Columbia Stages production of Summertime by Charles Mee. He is a member of Actors' Equity and celebrates 20 years as an actor, director, and teaching artist. In addition to his work on the stage he has been studying psychophysical approaches to actor training and has attended workshops in Grotowski-based actor training and the Michael Chekhov Technique. Smiley holds an MFA in Acting from The University of Texas at Austin.

MONK PARROTS is an ensemble of performing and visual artists that create concept driven live work through multidisciplinary collaboration. From this strategy they have initiated a diverse repertoire ranging from experimental drama, musical plays, and opera. They premiere their work in New York and tour nationally and internationally. Recently, they had two new productions premiere in New York City, Bum Phillips: All-American Opera at La MaMa and the musical play Welcome to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at 59E59 Theaters. Their mission is to cultivate new audiences for new forms, provide opportunities for artists, and forge uncommon unions that enrich their practice and broaden their relationships with professional artists and community members. Awards include: Manhattan Community Arts Fund Grants, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space Artist Residencies, Hatchfund Grant, USA Projects Grant, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts EmergenCy Grant. Monk Parrots is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit performing arts organization based in New York. Visit www.monkparrots.org or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/monkparrots.org, Twitter: twitter.com/monkparrots and Instagram: www.instagram.com/monkparrots.