Buffalo Theatre Ensemble Announces New Leadership For 2025-2026 Season

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), the professional Equity theater company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), has announced Gus Menary as Managing Artistic Director and Daniel Millhouse as Associate Artistic Director for BTE's 2025-2026 Season. Menary and Millhouse officially assume their positions July 1.

The search for BTE's Managing Artistic Director began in spring 2024 when Connie Canaday Howard, who had held the position for 24 years, announced she would be stepping down. To ensure a seamless transition into the next chapter, then-BTE Associate Artistic Director Amelia Barrett, assumed the position of Interim Managing Artistic Director for the 2024-2025 season and Daniel Millhouse assumed the role of Interim Associate Artistic Director.

Said Board President Brandee Martin: “The board is grateful to Amelia and Daniel for their commitment over the past year. It provided us the opportunity to complete a thorough search to fill the two positions that are so vitally important to carry BTE's mission forward. I am very impressed with the experience and qualifications Gus and Daniel will bring to the table and I look forward to the great things this new leadership team will bring to the company.”

From 2020 to 2023, Gus Menary served as the Artistic Director of Book-It Repertory Theatre in Seattle, leading the company through the challenges of the pandemic by pivoting to audio plays and successfully resuming live performances when conditions allowed. During his tenure, he programmed over a dozen plays, including new adaptations of works by Agatha Christie, Amy Tan, and Jane Austen. Prior to that, he was the Artistic Director at Jackalope Theatre Company from 2014 to 2020. There, he produced and directed some of the most innovative and critically acclaimed programming in Chicago, created and spearheaded their new-work program, and helped draft and implement the Chicago Theatre Standards - a framework for safe theater-making now used nationwide. Most recently, Menary directed the smash-hit production of Ronan Noone's “The Smuggler” at Jackalope Theatre, which enjoyed critical accolades, an extended run and remount, and a Joseph Jefferson nomination for Best Production (Short Run).

“I am deeply honored to step into the role of Managing Artistic Director with Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, a company comprised of some of the most talented artists and practitioners in the Chicagoland area” said Menary. “I look forward to supporting and building on their decades-long legacy of creating vibrant professional theatre at the McAninch Arts Center- the beating heart of the arts in DuPage County.”

In addition to most recently serving as BTE Interim Associate Artistic Director, Daniel Millhouse has worked with BTE as an actor and stage manager since 2016. Previous productions with BTE as an actor include “The Wickhams,” “Miss Bennet,” and “The 39 Steps,” and as a stage manager for “Naperville” and “Season's Greetings.” Additional theater credits include shows with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Remy Bumppo, A Crew of Patches, ShawChicago and Second City Training Center. Video/film credits include “Call of Duty” video game franchise and “Chicago Fire,” and his voice can be heard on “The Vanishing Act” and The Onion's “The Topical” podcasts. Millhouse is an Associate Professor at the College of DuPage where he directs productions for College Theater. He received his MFA in Acting/ Directing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his BS in Theater Arts from Eastern Michigan University. Millhouse is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. Prior to BTE, Daniel co-founded and served as Managing Director for Misalliance Repertory Theatre.

Said Millhouse, “Serving as BTE's Interim Associate Artistic Director this past year has been an incredible honor. To now officially step into the role is both deeply meaningful and genuinely exciting. I am especially grateful for the chance to continue collaborating with Gus and the extraordinary BTE Ensemble, artists who inspire me with their talent and commitment every day. One of the greatest joys of this work has been connecting with our audiences and the wider DuPage community. I look forward to deepening those relationships as we continue bringing compelling, resonant stories to life together.”

BTE's 2025-2026 season will open with BTE Managing Artistic Director Emerita and Ensemble Member Connie Canaday Howard's staging of “Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley” (Nov. 20-Dec. 21), the third and final play in the trilogy of plays by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, based on the beloved characters from Jane Austen's “Pride and Prejudice.” It will be followed by Paul Slade Smith's wild and wacky “Unnecessary Farce,” directed by BTE Ensemble Member Kurt Naebig (Jan. 29-March 1). Guest director Steve Scott returns to direct BTE's final play of the season, Noah Haidle's warm and thought-provoking “Birthday Candles” (May 7-June 7).

BTE's 2025-2026 Season performances will take place in the Playhouse Theatre of the McAninch Arts Center located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage. Subscriptions are now on sale. Single show tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 8. For tickets or more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.
 

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