PITTSBURGH: The City Theatre has named Marc Masterson to be its new artistic director. Masterson, who served as the company’s producing artistic director from 1981 to 2000, was selected after a nationwide search. He will return to the theatre later this summer.

“Marc has an exemplary track record of artistic excellence, fundraising, community engagement, and commitment to new plays,” said board president Beth Newbold in a statement. “We are fortunate that he has chosen to bring his experience and expertise to City Theatre, to lead our organization into a new era. On behalf of the board, I am very excited to welcome Marc to the team and cannot wait to see the work that emerges from the company with James and him at the helm. It will propel us forward to increased local and national recognition as a leader in new play development.”

Masterson most recently served as the artistic director of South Coast Repertory Theatre from 2011 to 2018. During his tenure there, he produced world premieres including A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, Vietgone by Qui Nguyen, Mr. Wolf by Rajiv Joseph, and Office Hour by Julia Cho. Masterson created DIALOGUE/DIÁLOGOS, a community-focused new play development program, and the CrossRoads Commissioning Project, both at South Coast Rep. Previously he led the Actors Theatre of Louisville for 11 years, where he produced the world premiere productions of Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler, Maple and Vine by Jordan Harrison, and Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo, among others. His recent directing credits include Shakespeare in Love, All the Way, Going to a Place Where You Already Are, Zealot, Death of a Salesman, Eurydice, and Elemeno Pea at South Coast Rep; Hand to God at the Alliance Theatre; Byhalia, Mississippi by Evan Linder at the Contemporary American Theater Festival; As You Like It for the Houston Shakespeare Festival; and The Kite Runner at Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Cleveland Play House. In 2017, he was awarded the Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theater Outstanding Leadership Award. He co-founded the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance, the organization now known as the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council.

“For decades City Theatre has built a reputation as one of the finest mid-sized theatres in America,” Masterson said in a statement. “I love the audiences in Pittsburgh, the friends and colleagues I have there, as well as the strong sense of community in the city itself. I couldn’t be more thrilled about the future.”