Jim Petosa to Take Over as Artistic Director for New Repertory Theater

After a nation-wide search, New Repertory Theater has selected Jim Petosa as the company’s new artistic director.

“I am excited that New Rep is bringing on board such an eminently qualified, visionary leader as Jim Petosa for this critical role,” New Rep Board Chair Daniel Newton said in a statement. “As a guest director at New Rep, Jim has been involved with our artistic family for years. I am confident he will ensure the continued production of the highest quality theatre our audiences have come to expect.”

Petosa will take over the position on August 1, after finishing his final season as artistic director of Maryland’s Olney Theatre Center, a title he has held since 1994. Petosa notes that he will “become involved immediately in the remainder of New Rep’s current season, as well as plans for the 2012-2013 upcoming season.”

While at Olney, Petosa was responsible for expanding the company from a summer theater to year-round, growing the company into a theater-center, and earning many awards including the Helen Hayes Award. Since 2002, he has served as Director of the School of Theatre, College of Fine Arts, at Boston University. For New Rep, he has directed three productions in three years, including Opus and The Last 5 Years.

A member of Actors’ Equity Association, Petosa has served on the executive board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Catalyst Theatre, and the advisory board Playwrights Forum. He has been a a visiting professor at Middlebury College, an artist-in-residence at George Washington University, and a guest artist at Georgetown University, Wolf Trap, and the Smithsonian Institution. He resides in Quincy, MA.