A.C.T. Names Elizabeth Williamson as New Artistic Director

Following a nationwide search, led by Barbara Messing and an engaged search committee, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of OBIE Award winner Elizabeth Williamson as the new Artistic Director of San Francisco's premier nonprofit theater organization. Williamson will assume the position on January 4, 2027.

An internationally recognized theatermaker, Williamson has worked on Broadway, London's West End, Off-Broadway, at leading regional theaters across the United States, and internationally. Her Broadway and West End credits include serving as dramaturg and commissioner on Matthew López's Tony and Olivier Award-winning production, The Inheritance; dramaturg on the Tony Award-winning musical, Some Like It Hot; artistic producer and dramaturg on the Tony Award-nominated musical, Anastasia; and dramaturg on the Tony Award-winning musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Her film work includes serving as dramaturg on Amazon Studio's Red, White & Royal Blue, and her production with Jared Mezzocchi of Sarah Gancher's Russian Troll Farm live online during the COVID pandemic was recognized with a special OBIE.

Williamson comes to A.C.T. from Geva Theatre in Rochester, New York, where she has served as Artistic Director since 2022. During her tenure, she has been celebrated for her inclusive leadership, launching the ROC Geva Pass with the City of Rochester, raising the company's national profile with shows transferring off-Broadway and around the country, expanding the company's engagement initiatives, and building multiple ongoing partnerships with artists, audiences and the Rochester communities.

'Elizabeth is a well-respected artist and leader whose career reflects the qualities that are at the heart of A.C.T.'s mission and purpose,” said Jeff Minick, Chair of A.C.T.'s Board of Trustees. “From developing groundbreaking new work to leading one of the country's prominent regional theaters, she brings a deep passion for the Bay Area and its local artists, along with strong relationships with artists across the industry.”

“As a gifted theater maker, Elizabeth brings the depth, sensitivity and experience necessary to expand our audiences, nurture our connections to our youth, students and diverse communities, and secure the resources and partnerships essential for a thriving arts organization. It's especially necessary when so many of us are seeking connection in a rapidly developing digital society, “adds Joaquín Torres, President of A.C.T.'s Board of Trustees. “We're excited to welcome Elizabeth and her talent for developing new voices that speak to our times and bringing out the best in artists and the people who make theater possible in San Francisco and across the Bay Area.”

“From the beginning of this search, we were looking for an artistic leader who could honor A.C.T.'s extraordinary history while boldly imagining its next chapter,' said Barbara Messing, Search Committee Chair. “Elizabeth Williamson stood out for the clarity of her artistic vision, her deep commitment to artists and new work, her passion for training the next generation, and her belief in theater's power to engage and inspire an entire community. We can't wait for San Francisco to experience the energy, ambition, and artistry she'll bring to A.C.T.'s stages.”

“A.C.T. is both one of our country's great flagship companies, and my hometown theatre. I have always admired its extraordinary mission and programming, connecting international, national and regional artists, communities and students through a body of work spanning the classics, great new work, and major revivals,” said Elizabeth Williamson. “I started my career here (both my wife and I grew up in the Bay Area) and I couldn't be more honored to be coming home to A.C.T. as its new Artistic Director.”

Williamson is particularly known for her work developing and premiering new plays and musicals. Her collaborations have included artists such as Matthew López, Bess Wohl, Jeffrey L Page and Stew, DeLanna Studi, Harrison David Rivers, Sarah Gancher, Dan O'Brien, Kaneza Schaal, Doug McGrath, Robert Freedman, Terrence McNally, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Octavio Sólis, Baron Vaughn, Lauren Yee, and others. Some credits include The Body of an American, Newtown, Murder on the Orient Express, JACK &, Reverberation, Somewhere, Make Believe, Rear Window, and The Flamingo Kid.

Before joining Geva, Williamson spent nearly eight years at Hartford Stage, where she served as Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Play Development. While at Hartford, she worked alongside then-Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak to program and produce the theater's seasons, led new-play development and commissioning, founded and led Hartford Stage's community engagement initiatives, and oversaw the educational partnership with the BFA program at the Hartt School.

As a director and adapter, Williamson's work includes her adaptations of Molière, Marivaux, and most recently her adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, which has been seen at theaters including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alley Theatre, Geva Theatre, and Hartford Stage; her productions of And Then There Were None at Alley Theatre; A Christmas Carol at Geva; Henry V and Cloud Nine at Hartford Stage; and numerous new works and world premieres.

Williamson's appointment marks a return to the San Francisco Bay Area, where earlier in her career she worked with A.C.T., Aurora Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Cal Shakes, PlayGround, AlterTheater, and Berkeley Rep's School of Theatre.

Williamson earned her M.St. from Oxford University and B.A. from Bennington College and trained at the Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. She is a recipient of an NEA Fellowship in Literary Translation and a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.