RED BANK, NJ — Two River Theater Company Executive Producer Robert M. Rechnitz and Board of Directors President Ann Unterberg today announced the appointment of Aaron Posner to the position of Artistic Director effective November 1, 2006. Posner, co-founder of the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, served as the company’s artistic director from 1988-1998, and as resident director for the past 7 years. Over their 17 year history, he directed nearly 40 shows, including plays by Shakespeare, Shaw, Stoppard, Friel, and many of his own world premiere adaptations of literature.
“The board and I have been struck by the breadth of Aaron’s accomplishments,” stated Rechnitz. “His achievements as a teacher, a director, a playwright, an artistic director for ten years—to say nothing of his having been at 24 the founder of the very successful Arden Theatre in Philadelphia—have dazzled all of us. Guiding the Arden, Aaron was an engaged member of the Philadelphia cultural community. With his high intelligence, his theatrical knowledge and experience, and his eagerness for community involvement, Aaron is the right artistic leader for Two River Theater.”
“I am incredibly excited about the possibilities at Two River,” says Posner. “What this company has accomplished in just over a decade is remarkable. They’ve laid an outstanding foundation upon which we can now build with confidence. We have a first-rate facility, an enthusiastic audience that is growing every year, and a dynamic community that has already shown amazing support. The possibilities for the future are really limitless.”
Posner claims that the work he will bring to TRTC will not represent a radical departure from the company’s aesthetic over its 12 year history. “TRTC has clearly been interested in smart, challenging work from the very start. The focus on the classics has been great, and we will certainly continue to explore these great works of dramatic literature. But we will also begin to add more new work, more international work, and more work for audiences of all ages—not only for young kids or families, but also for 20-somethings and 30-somethings who may not currently attend. I want this to be a place where the entire community can come together to hear stories that matter—that move, challenge, and entertain.”
Since 1998, in addition to his role as resident director at the Arden, he has worked as a freelance director, playwright, philanthropic consultant and teacher. He has directed acclaimed productions at many of the most prominent regional theaters in America including the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, Delaware Theatre Company, The Folger Shakespeare Theatre, and many more. His adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel The Chosen, which premiered at the Arden, won the 1998 Barrymore Award for Best New Play and has been performed at more than 30 regional theaters across the country including Paper Mill Playhouse. Posner also won a Barrymore for his direction of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Arden, a Helen Hayes Award for his direction of The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Folger, and in 2000 was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship.
Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Posner attended Northwestern University and Southern Methodist University, and has lived in Philadelphia since 1988. He taught for nearly a decade as an adjunct professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, as well as professional training classes at the Arden. He has taught master classes and workshops at dozens of universities and theater companies around the country.
Posner will direct one of TRTC’s mainstage productions during the second half of the 2006-07 Season.
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Two River Theater Company, under the leadership of Executive Producer Robert M. Rechnitz was founded in 1994 as Monmouth County's first professional regional theater in 30 years. Over the past 12 seasons, TRTC has grown into one of New Jersey’s most vital arts organizations combining the production values of Broadway with the very real human values of education, enlightenment, and the betterment of our community through artistic exploration. TRTC has presented professional (Actors’ Equity Association) productions of the highest quality to an ever-expanding audience while performing at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan, and at the current location at the new state-of-the-art venue at 21 Bridge Avenue in Red Bank. TRTC’s mission is to perform from the world body of dramatic literature, including new works, those plays which most richly direct our gaze to the life of the human spirit in all of its shifting modes, its thought, its suffering, its passion, its joy and laughter. As one of New Jersey's leading regional theaters, Two River Theater Company, a not-for-profit arts organization, is supported in part by grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Dept. of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, in addition to contributions from many corporations, foundations, businesses and individuals. Two River Theater Company is a member of Theatre Communications Group and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. |
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