DALLAS: Dallas Theater Center has announced that playwright Jonathan Norton will become interim artistic director. He succeeds former Enloe/Rose artistic director Kevin Moriarty, who was promoted to executive director in 2023 and artistic producer Sarahbeth Grossman, who recently departed the organization. Norton has served as DTC’s resident playwright since 2019 and already shared artistic responsibilities with Grossman and Moriarty. The theatre’s board of directors plans to launch a national search for leadership candidates in the fall, with a new Enloe/Rose artistic director to be appointed in late 2025.
“Jonathan has been one of the most impactful artists at DTC through much of the past decade,” said Moriarty in a statement. “His work as a writer has received critical acclaim in Dallas and contributed to the impact Dallas artists are making on the national theatre community. As DTC’s resident playwright/literary manager, Jonathan has been a leader in our season planning process, working alongside DTC’s artistic producer, Sarahbeth Grossman, to identify plays and artists that engage Dallas audiences, and collaborating with DTC’s Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company to produce productions that are entertaining and relevant. I am immensely grateful to Jonathan for stepping forward during this transitional time to provide consistent artistic leadership and to ensure that our artistry remains exemplary.”
Jonathan Norton is a playwright and theatremaker based in Texas. His plays penny candy, Cake Ladies, and I AM DELIVERED’T have all premiered at Dallas Theater Center. His work has also been produced or developed by Actors Theatre of Louisville, La Jolla Playhouse, TheatreSquared, Primary Stages, PlayPenn, National New Play Network, and more. Jonathan’s play Mississippi Goddamn was a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and won the 2016 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association. Other awards include: Artistic Innovations Grant from the MidAmerica Art Alliance, South Dallas Cultural Center Diaspora Performing Arts Commission, and the TACA Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund.
“I saw my first play at DTC,” said Norton in a statement. “It was Adrian Hall’s production of A Christmas Carol. At the time, sixth grade me could not have imagined that decades later DTC would become a cherished artistic home. In my time here I’ve grown so much as an artist and administrator, and I am eager to pay that forward. This is a critical time for both DTC and the American theatre, and I do not take this new responsibility lightly. I am excited to collaborate with so many wonderful folks I deeply admire, to make theatre as big and bold as the city of Dallas.”
Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theatre company in North Texas, producing experimental interpretations of classics and world premieres. The company seeks to invest in their community by producing plays with resident artists that reflect and illuminate diverse experiences, spark collaboration and dialogue, and invite engagement. As of 2022, DTC had an approximate budget of $10 million.
