Adam Karsten

Adam Karsten is the executive artistic director of Coachella Valley Repertory, joining the company is 2022. He is an award-winning director for stage, screen and television/broadcast. He has written, produced, and directed Off-Broadway, regional, and national touring productions, and Broadway workshops. Karsten has produced and directed films and documentaries that have aired nationally and internationally. From 2012 to 2020, he produced and directed feature presentations for the Emmy Award-winning series Live From Lincoln Center and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Karsten was the co-founder and artistic director for the New York City-based film and stage production companies A2K Productions and A2K Theatricals. His film projects were seen at the London Worldwide, U.K; New York Film Festival; San Francisco Indie Shorts; and Portland Comedy. He received the Indie Gathering/Gloria Film and Video Festival Award in 2007. Karsten wrote and directed Quiet Clock, The Musical, which was nominated for Best Family Show by Off-Broadway Alliance and the Broadway Workshop of the new musical, Ameena, that debuted at New 42nd Street Studios in NYC. Karsten co-founded and was the director of the Conflict-of-Interest Theatre Company in downtown New York from 2008-2011 producing entirely original stage works. From 2012 to 2017. Karsten served as the managing artistic director of Weathervane Playhouse, the oldest professional summer stock theater in Ohio. While there, among the many productions he directed, Karsten received Broadwayworld.com’s award for Best Direction for Les Misérables and was nominated for Best Direction for Moon Over Buffalo. Throughout his career, Karsten has been dedicated to the development of new, stylistic theatre and film projects as defined concepts, gaining the respect of critics, his peers, and audiences. Karsten thrives on finding ways to build bridges through his work that allow audiences to share unique theatrical experiences. He is committed to growing CVRep’s audience, working with writers, composers, and producers to develop new theatre productions with the Origins program at CVRep as well as engaging in meaningful partnerships and collaborations with schools and developing the next generation of theatre goers in the Coachella Valley. Karsten received his B.F.A. with an emphasis in theatre arts from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.A. with an emphasis in directing for theatre from SUNY. He is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab. Karsten is married to award-winning choreographer and director Karen Sieber.