NEW HAVEN, CONN.: Elm Shakespeare Company has announced that Rebecca Goodheart will be its new producing director. She will replace founder and artistic director James Andreassi and managing director Margaret Andreassi, who both step down this fall after 20 years of leadership.
“After a national search and interview process which produced a number of highly qualified applicants, the transition team unanimously endorsed Rebecca Goodheart for the new role of producing director,” said board treasurer and chair of the transition team, David Newton, in a statement. “She has the education, experience, and energy to lead Elm Shakespeare Co. and to further enhance the quality and excellence of programs and performances.”
Goodheart is the founder of Maryland Shakespeare Festival, where she served as the producing director for 12 years. During her tenure, she helped to develop an educational program reaching more than 30,000 students and managed 60 seasonal staff members and a large volunteer corps. Goodheart has also served as the director of training for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, where she formed a resident teaching artist company, an intern company, and a school residency program. She recently directed a production at the African American Shakespeare Company. Goodheart is a company member of Prague Shakespeare and serves as a program consultant for Instituto Gandarela in Brazil. She received an MFA in Directing and a Master of Letters in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance from the American Shakespeare Center at Mary Baldwin College, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and she is a designated Linklater voice teacher.
“I am honored to accept the leadership of such a generous, talented, and civically minded group of artists and to join the artistically rich and diverse city scape of New Haven,” said Goodheart in a statement. “The next chapter in Elm Shakespeare Company’s story promises to build on the extraordinary vision of its founders, continuing our cherished productions for the community while expanding both our artistic and educational impact throughout the city.”
