Signature Theatre Co. Names Associate Artistic Director

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Kathryn Lipuma, Executive Director) announced today that Beth Whitaker has been promoted to Associate Artistic Director after seven years with the company. In a newly created position, Jennie Greer has joined the staff as Director of Theatre Advancement.

Beth Whitaker has been with Signature Theatre Company for seven years, first as Literary Manager, then as Artistic Associate and now as Associate Artistic Director. She is also currently Literary Manager for Tectonic Theater Project. Previously, she was Artistic Associate for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference from 2000-2003, Literary Manager for the Williamstown Theatre Festival for three seasons and Literary Associate for The ALLIANCE THEATRE Company in Atlanta for two seasons. She has also worked for the New Harmony Project and has a BFA in Theatre from Southern Methodist University and an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University.

JENNIE GREER joins the staff of Signature Theatre Company as Director of Theatre Advancement. Previously, she was the Director of Development for New Dramatists, the nation's foremost playwright service organization. Jennie also served as the Executive Director for The New Harmony Project, an Indiana-based organization dedicated to developing new works for theatre, film, and television. She also worked as the Interim Marketing Director for University of Evansville Theatre, where she is also a graduate. In addition to her work at Signature, Jennie is pursuing her MFA in Performing Arts Management at Brooklyn College. Jennie returns to Signature after beginning her career here as an intern during the Maria Irene Fornes season.

Signature Theatre Company was founded in 1991 by Artistic Director James Houghton and is the first theatre in the United States dedicated to season-long explorations of a single-living-playwright's body of work. The company's first nine seasons presented the works of Romulus Linney, Lee Blessing, Edward Albee, Horton Foote, Adrienne Kennedy, Sam Shepard, Arthur Miller, John Guare and Maria Irene Fornes. The 10th Anniversary of Signature Theatre Company -- its 2000-02 All-Premiere Celebration -- featured new works from a selection of the theatre's distinguished past Playwrights-in-Residence. The 2002-03 Season was dedicated to Lanford Wilson, the 2003-04 Season to Bill Irwin, and the 2004-05 Season to Paula Vogel. The 15th Anniversary Legacy Season (2005-2006) featured the award-winning Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote and John Guare's Landscape of the Body. Signature will begin the August Wilson Series in July with Seven Guitars followed by Two Trains Running and King Hedley II.