Liesl Tommy Named New Associate Director of Berkeley Rep

Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director Tony Taccone today announces the appointment of Liesl Tommy as the nonprofit's associate director. Tommy, who most recently directEd Berkeley Rep's critically acclaimed production of Ruined, joins the Theatre's artistic team effective September 1. Tommy will fulfill various artistic duties including directing for Berkeley Rep's main stage; developing new work through The Ground Floor, the Center for the Creation and Development of New Work; and supporting ongoing artistic pursuits in the spirit of cultivating and producing innovative and adventurous work for the Theatre.

"I am thrilled to welcome Liesl to our staff this season," says Taccone. "She is the consummate artist and a skilled and enthusiastic collaborator. Bay Area audiences know her work with us and just over the hills at Cal Shakes. She's a wonderful addition to the creative team as we continue to chart our course for the future to bring powerful stories to our stage."

An award-winning director who works internationally and nationally, Tommy's productions have garnered acclaim for directing, acting, and design. She succeeds Les Waters, who served as associate artistic director of Berkeley Rep for eight years. Waters now serves as the artistic director of the renowned Actors Theatre of Louisville.

"I had a profound experience working with Berkeley Rep to bring Ruined to Bay Area audiences a few years ago," remarks Tommy. "Berkeley Rep has a reputation for producing rigorous exciting theatre with truly forward-thinking and challenging ideas. It's why all these great theatre artists want to get their work done here. I'm honored to join the staff in my new role and to participate in bolstering the creative visions of the organization."

As a director, her world premieres include Party People by Universes (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The White Man - A Complex Declaration of Love by Joan Rang (DanskDansk Theatre, Denmark), Peggy Picket Sees the Face of God by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Luminato Festival/Canadian Stage Toronto), Eclipsed by Danai Gurira (Yale Repertory Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson (The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center), A History of Light by Eisa Davis (Contemporary American Theatre Festival), Angela's Mixtape by Eisa Davis (Synchronicity Performance Group, New Georges), A Stone's Throw by Lynn Nottage (Women's Project), Bus and Family Ties (Play Company for the Romania Kiss Me! Festival), and Misterioso 119 by Koffi Kwahule (Berkshire Theatre Festival, Act French Festival).

Tommy's other credits include Hamlet (California Shakespeare Theater), A Raisin in the Sun and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Huntington Theatre Company),American Buffalo (Center Stage in Baltimore), He is Here He Says I Say (Sundance East Africa, Manda Island, Kenya), The Piano Lesson (Yale Repertory Theatre ),Ruined by Lynn Nottage (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company), Crimes of the Heart(McCarter Theatre Center), Book of Life (Sundance Institute East Africa, Manda, Kenya), Yankee Tavern and Stick Fly (Contemporary American Theater Festival), as well as A Christmas Carol (Trinity Repertory Company).

Tommy serves as the Program Associate at Sundance Institute Theatre Program focusing on its activities in East Africa and was recently made an Artist Trustee with The Sundance Institute's Board of Trustees. She was awarded the inaugural Susan Stroman Directing Award from the Vineyard Theatre, the NEA/TCG Directors Grant, and the New York Theatre Workshop Casting/Directing Fellowship. Tommy has taught master classes in acting, directing, and new play development internationally, and guest directed at Juilliard, Trinity Rep/Brown University's MFA Directing Program, The Strasberg Institute, and Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She is a native of Cape Town, South Africa.

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