BOSTON: Following a six-month nationwide search, the board of directors for SpeakEasy Stage Company has announced the appointment of award-winning theatre artist Dawn M. Simmons as its new artistic director, effective July 1. Simmons succeeds founding artistic director Paul Daigneault, who led the company for more than three decades.
“Dawn is one of Boston’s leading theatre directors, and she was approved unanimously by the Board for this position,” said board of directors co-chair Andrew Fullem in a statement. “She has the skills, experience, and imagination needed to succeed someone as visionary and influential as Paul, and will further elevate SpeakEasy’s profile regionally and nationally.”
Simmons is an award-winning director, producer, playwright, administrator, cultural consultant, and educator. She has led productions in Boston, across Massachusetts, and around the country, most recently directing SpeakEasy’s critically acclaimed production of Ain’t No Mo’ by Jordan E. Cooper, a co-production with the Front Porch Arts Collective, which she co-founded with Maurice Emmanuel Parent. The collective is Boston’s leading Black theatre company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theatre. Simmons holds the 2024-25 Monan Professorship in Theatre Arts at Boston College, which brings renowned theatre artists to work and teach at the campus for one year.
“I’ve admired the incredible team at SpeakEasy for years, and I have been fortunate to collaborate with them in myriad ways,” said Simmons in a statement. “Stepping into the role of artistic director is a true honor; I’m beyond excited to join this remarkable team. This is an opportunity to usher in a bold new chapter for SpeakEasy, one where we continue to captivate and challenge audiences with powerful, thought-provoking productions and new programming. I’m committed to amplifying fresh voices, diving into meaningful subjects, and celebrating the rich diversity of stories that deserve to be heard. We’re gonna have some fun!”
The nationwide search was guided by consultants at the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management and was led by a SpeakEasy search committee comprising staff leadership, board members, and advisory board members. The committee’s work was informed by interviews and surveys among key stakeholders including SpeakEasy staff and board members, as well as a broader community of artists who have worked with the company. The committee reviewed nearly 100 interested candidates from 15 states and three countries.
Now in its 34th year, SpeakEasy Stage is an award-winning nonprofit professional theatre company in residence at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. Founded and led by producing artistic director Paul Daigneault, the company has consistently won acclaim for its intimate, top-quality, original productions of bold contemporary plays and musicals that, for three decades, have sparked conversations that challenge, connect and inspire its audiences and the Greater Boston community. As of 2023, they had a budget of approximately $2 million.
