Miami New Drama Names Claudia Campos New Managing Director

Miami New Drama, the acclaimed not-for-profit theater company founded by playwright and director Michel Hausmann, has announced  that Claudia Campos has been named Managing Director, marking a homecoming for the Miami-raised theater artist who began her career with the groundbreaking theatre company as a college intern.

Her appointment comes ahead of Miami New Drama's 10th Anniversary Season — a moment that offers an opportunity to build on the company's distinctive history of developing new work, telling original stories, embracing multilingual and multicultural theater, and creating art that reflects the complexity of the city it calls home. As Managing Director, Campos will work alongside Miami New Drama's artistic leadership to guide the company's continued growth and development as it begins its second decade.

A Cuban-born Miami native, Campos came to Miami with her family at the age of six and grew up immersed in the city's vibrant and multicultural community. Campos initially envisioned a career as an actor, studying theater at Florida State University. But as she began looking for stories and roles that reflected the people and experiences that made up her own family and community, her ambitions began to shift.

“I realized there weren't enough stories being told about the people I knew and the world I came from,” Campos said. “I started to understand that maybe I didn't just want to wait for those stories to be written. I wanted to help tell them myself.”

That realization led Campos toward directing and producing — and, eventually, to Miami New Drama. While still a student at FSU, Campos became aware of an emerging theater company in her hometown that was producing new work rooted in the city and embracing bilingual storytelling. Near the end of 2017, she reached out to Miami New Drama through Facebook to inquire about an internship. Artistic Director Michel Hausmann responded to her message directly.

“Claudia's story is, in many ways, the story of Miami New Drama,” said Hausmann. “She found us as a young theater student because she recognized something in the work we were doing — a commitment to telling the stories of Miami and creating a theater that reflected the city around us. To have her return now, with all she has learned and experienced, and help lead the company into its next chapter is incredibly meaningful.”

Campos began her internship in May 2018, and assisted everywhere and anywhere - with directing, social media, stage management and production, and contributed wherever she was needed.

“I did a little bit of everything,” Campos recalls. “And that was incredibly formative for me. I got to see how a theater company actually works — not just from one department, but from every angle.”

Eventually, Campos pursued a master's degree in Theater Management at Yale University, while also serving as an apprentice at the Mellon Foundation. She graduated earlier this year, and now returns to Miami New Drama in a leadership role, bringing with her both an intimate knowledge of the organization and a broader perspective shaped by years of training and experience.

For Campos, the opportunity represents both a new beginning and a return to where it all started.

"It's such a rare gift to be given the opportunity to go back home, especially to the company that shaped me as a leader, Campos said. “When I first messaged Michel on Facebook almost a decade ago, I had no idea the impact Miami New Drama would have on me – both personally and professionally. I grew up here, I learned what it means to create theater here, I even met my husband here. I've been lucky to be mentored by some of the great theater producers in the American Theater, and Michel Hausmann has been singular among them. He has always believed in me and put his full support behind me. It will be the privilege of my career to partner with him to lead this company into its next decade."

Full details about the 10th Anniversary Season, along with season subscription packages and single tickets are now on sale at miaminewdrama.org.