Strawdog Theatre Announces New Managing Director & Production Manager

Strawdog Theatre Company has announced the appointment of Paul Cook as its new Managing Director. Cook has served as Production Manager at Strawdog since 2019 and an ensemble member since 2020. Strawdog also welcomes Donna "Dante" Gary as its new Production Manager.

Comments Strawdog Artistic Director Kamille Dawkins, "Already this team has proven to be invaluable. Such insight, commitment and heart. Skills and talent aside, they are simply a pleasure to have in the room. We are so pleased to welcome Donna and to promote Paul to this new position. Cheers all around!"

Biographies:

Paul Cook (Managing Director, he/him) is a Chicago native and has lived all over the country. He did his undergrad at Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI), and received his MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). He was invited to join the Strawdog Theatre Ensemble in 2020, after serving as Strawdog's Production Manager in 2019. Paul is passionate about all kinds of theatre, but classics and musical theatre hold a special place in his heart. As a performer, Paul has performed all across the country, as well as overseas. As a director, he has created work in Tennessee, Illinois and California. Prior to joining Strawdog, Paul served as Production Manager for Pride Films and Plays. He also currently serves as the Production Manager at Peninsula Players Theatre in Door County, WI.

Donna "Dante" Gary (Production Manager, they/them) is a nonbinary femme creative and administrator. They are a passionate organizer that privileges accessibility and care work in every collaboration. Donna loves the work they do and living in the greatest city on earth: Chicago. They are a proud alumni of Whitney M. Young and the first Goodman Theater Poetry Slam team. They graduated in 2019 from NYU Gallatin's School of Individualized Study cum laude with a cross school Disability Studies minor and Bachelor of Arts degree in Poetics of Embodiment: Study of the Ways Marginalized Folks Re-Imagine Their Value. They are a long-time member of the Support Ho(s)e Collective and a new organizer with the Midwest Perzine Festival.

About Strawdog Theatre Company

Strawdog Theatre Company was founded as a small ensemble-based Chicago storefront theatre in 1988 by founders, Lawrence Novikoff and Paul Engelhardt. Since then, Strawdog has grown and redefined what storefront theatre and ensemble work means by elevating the craft of intimate storytelling through innovative collaborative work in all genres. Their ensemble and guest artists are encouraged to bring out of the box thinking to create worlds and immersive theater experiences in a little black box. As one of the oldest, most well-respected storefront theaters of Chicago, they foster career growth and artistic experimentation to theater artists of all disciplines. They make theater more accessible to the community by providing free admission to their productions. They give their ensemble the support to create exciting, new and unusual work in their late night, off night, mainstage and virtual spaces, garnering us a special non-equity Jeff Award for 30 years of provocative ensemble work.

Strawdog Theatre Company is supported in part by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council Agency, The Small Business Association and The Saints Grant Commission.