TACT/The Actors Company Theatre Names Jenn Thompson as New Co-Artistic Director

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre announced today that it has appointed Company Member and Associate Producer Jenn Thompson as new Co-Artistic Director. Simon Jones, Co-Artistic Director since 1999, is stepping down from the position after 12 years of service to TACT, although he will remain an involved Company Member.

Founding Co-Artistic Directors Scott Alan Evans and Cynthia Harris said "We have been blessed to collaborate with Simon as an artistic trio for the past twelve years. The many qualities he has brought to the company have been immeasurable and we would not be where we are without him. We feel equally blessed to welcome Jenn in this new position, having worked with her as a Company Member since 2002 and as TACT's Associate Producer since 2007. We are confident that TACT will continue to thrive under this new leadership."

In a statement, Mr. Jones expressed "During the time I have shared Co-Artistic Director responsibilities with Scott and Cynthia, we have taken the company from presenting concert performances of a few rehearsed readings of the finest neglected plays of the past, to a fully operational and vital Off-Broadway company. It's now time for someone else to take TACT to the next level, and I can't think of anyone better qualified than my good friend Jenn Thompson to take my place. I will remain an active Company Member and shall happily continue to contribute all I can as we progress toward bigger and better things."

In turn, MS. Thompson said "It's been an honor to call TACT my artistic home since I became a Company Member in 2002. I am thrilled to begin work, alongside fellow artistic directors Scott Alan Evans and Cynthia Harris, in continuing to build TACT's reputation for superb performances, outstanding productions and terrific nights out at the theater. It is a privilege to count myself among such a talented and diverse group of artists."

Bios

Jenn Thompson has been a TACT Company Member since 2002 and was named Associate Producer in 2007. She has appeared in several productions and, most recently, directed last season's critically-acclaimed production of The Memorandum. Other directing credits for TACT include The Late Christopher Bean, Bedroom Farce, The Eccentricities of a Nightingale (which was included in The New York Times "Top Ten Theatre Picks for 2008"), Ladies in Retirement, My 3 Angels, Rain and Kind Lady. Other NYC directing credits include the world-premiere boxing musical Seeing Stars, (NYMF), Badge by Matthew Schneck (Rattlestick), Term Limit (AGT), The Brilliance Of Bernstein (American Musicals Project) and Big Doolie (FringeNYC). She has developed new work at Primary Stages, The York, Abingdon Theatre Company, among others and served as a Producing Director and founding company member of Connecticut's award-winning River Rep Theatre Company for over 10 seasons, where she performed in over 40 plays and musicals, directing productions of The Foreigner, Dinner with Friends, The Heiress and Damn Yankees. Other regional credits include this past spring's production of The Syringa Tree (Portland Stage Company) and the upcoming Noises Off (Dorset Theatre Festival). As an actress her credits include extensive theatre, TV and film appearances including the Tony Award-winning Broadway productions of Ah, Wilderness!, The Heiress, and Annie. She is married to actor Stephen Kunken.

TACT/The Actors Company Theatre (Scott Alan Evans, Cynthia Harris & Jenn Thompson - Co-Artistic Directors) is dedicated to presenting neglected or rarely produced plays of literary merit, with a focus on creating theatre from its essence: the text and the actor's ability to bring it to life. Last season, the company presented critically-acclaimed productions of Vaclev Havel's The Memorandum and John Cecil Holm and George Abbot's Three Men on a Horse.
TACT's celebrated company of actors was drawn together in 1992 by a love of the literature of the theatre. Since that time, they have grown to become a true ensemble: a group that has developed a common vocabulary and a technique based on their specific artistic vision and collective body of work. TACT Company Members, whose cumulative experience includes scores of significant roles on and off Broadway, in the country's finest regional theatres and in many films and television shows, have received Emmy, Obie, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, in addition to several Tony nominations.

Photo Credit: Stephen Kunken