Southern Rep Names New Artistic Director
New Orleans — Aimée Hayes, known for her direction of new plays, has been named as the new Artistic Director of Southern Rep, New Orleans’ foremost professional theatre. Hayes will succeed Ryan Rilette. Rilette resigned after six years serving as Producing Artistic Director to take up the position of Managing Director at Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley, California.
After an extensive national search, Bernard Jaffe, chairman of The Rep’s board, was especially pleased to announce Hayes’ appointment, as she had been serving as the theatre’s Managing Director for 15 months: "Her selection was a unanimous decision. Aimée is a strong, independent artist with a talent for bringing people together, a passion for the theater and a commitment to theater education.” Noteworthy accomplishments during her tenure as Managing Director include developing the Louisiana Writers Project that will bring local playwrights into the schools and doubling season subscriptions last season.
A prolific director, actor and producer, Aimée Hayes has worked in theatre for over 20 years. She has directed more than thirty productions in New York, regionally and in her hometown, New Orleans. As a key member of the company at Vital Theatre in NYC, Hayes directed five new plays as well as co-producing and directing ‘Make Nice?! My Ass!’ The Republican Convention Welcome Wagon, a summer-long weekly event. Hayes produced and directed the Red Light District Variety Show at Le Chat Noir in New Orleans (with the infamous Mayor Nagin puppet) that recently ended after three seasons. Other theatre positions include: founder of two theatre companies; Co-producer of “The Summer of Love 2004” and Company Manager at Vital Theatre in NYC and Artistic Associate at The Shakespeare Festival at Tulane. While at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Hayes was a directing intern under past-director Jon Jory, "who impressed upon me that the most important element in the theater is the playwright. And that is Southern Rep's absolute mandate," said Hayes. She earned her Masters of Fine Art from Tulane University and graduated magna cum laude from Loyola with a B.A. in English.
"I could not be happier with this selection," out-going P.A.D. Ryan Rilette said. “Aimée has the perfect combination. She is a great director, knows plays better than anybody. Plus she grew up here and is really able to talk to the community. I'm very pleased."
A fierce advocate of the playwright and new works, Hayes believes powerfully in continuing the mission of The Rep’s bringing new plays to this community, stating that Southern Rep will continue, "…to commission new work, and present the best of Broadway and off-Broadway, with an emphasis on plays that might otherwise not be seen here." Southern Rep is part of the National New Play Network, an alliance of 20 not-for-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays for the American theatre. Hayes was on the 2007 Reading Committee of NNPN’s National Showcase of New Plays.
New Orleans-based playwright John Biguenet’s Rising Water, commissioned by NNPN through Southern Rep, has been nominated for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Recently, Southern Rep also received The Louisiana Governor's 2007 Arts Award for Outstanding Arts Organization. Southern Rep’s mission is to develop and produce new plays by American playwrights, to provide our audience with professional theater of the highest artistic quality and achievement, and to establish a creative working environment that nurtures theatre professionals. As New Orleans’ premiere professional theatre, Southern Rep strives to use the artistry of theater to enlighten, educate, and entertain audiences, and aim to extend that service through educational and outreach programs. More information is available at Southern Rep’s website at www.southernrep.com.
