New Repertory Theatre Announces M. Bevin O'Gara as Interim Executive Artistic Director
O’Gara will serve in this position for approximately 9-12 months, until the search for a permanent Artistic Director has been completed and a new leader is appointed.
New Repertory Theatre has announced the appointment of the Boston-based and award-winning theatre producer and director M. Bevin O'Gara as its Interim Executive Artistic Director effective April 5, 2021. O'Gara succeeds Michael J. Bobbitt, who began his new role as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council on February 1, 2021. O'Gara will serve in this position for approximately 9-12 months, until the search for a permanent Artistic Director has been completed and a new leader is appointed.
During her almost two-decade career in Boston, O'Gara has overseen numerous productions, workshops and readings. She has received numerous Elliot Norton Awards, both as a director for Tribes and Small Mouth Sounds, and as a producer for Our Town and Come Back Little Sheba, which were directed by MacArthur Genius Award recipient David Cromer. A champion of local talent, Bevin created significant, new opportunities for Boston artists during her time at the Huntington. Her work with students, dedicated regional actors and local writers garnered her the Louis Roach Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Boston Theatre Community in 2011.
At the Kitchen Theatre she launched a Green Initiative to bring more environmentally sound practices to the theatre. She also undertook the ambitious task of restaging Tribes for a new audience; raising $25,000 for the production and presenting the first ever Mainstage ASL interpreted performance in the Percy Browning Theatre. During her tenure the Kitchen was recognized as Ithaca's Best Cultural Asset for two years in a row, the theatre hit a record number of subscribers, increased sponsorship support by 10%, and increased foundational support by 137% --including the theatre's first ever grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She also expanded the company's view and vision for equity, diversity, inclusion, and access through hiring practices that resulted in the hiring of 94% female directors, 74% female designers, 38% BIPOC designers and creating space for D/deaf artists and disabled youth to thrive at the theatre.
"New Rep's search committee is thrilled with the appointment of Bevin as our Interim Executive Artistic Director," says Jo Trompet, Chair of New Rep's Board of Directors. "Her familiarity and connections with the Boston theatre community, previous employment at New Rep and strong commitment to using theatre to advance equity and anti-racism made her a unanimous choice. We are confident that she will help to guide New Rep through the pandemic and our continued growth as an organization."
"I feel strongly about New Rep's mission to produce work that speaks to the vital conversations of the day," says O'Gara. "I'd add that - in my vision of the theatre - it is just as important for these ideas to spark conversation and create dialogue. New Rep was where I cut my teeth as a young producer many years ago, and I am grateful for the skills I gained there. They made me what I am, as an artist and as a person. I look forward to paying that back now."
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