(Chapel Hill, N.C.—Feb. 17, 2015) Joseph Haj, Producing Artistic Director of PlayMakers Repertory Company at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named the next artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minn. He will begin the position in July.
Haj has been Producing Artistic Director of PlayMakers since 2006, where he has directed “Into the Woods,” “The Tempest,” “Metamorphoses,” “Cabaret,” “Henry IV & V,” “Nicholas Nickleby” and “Big River,” among others. Under Haj, the company established the PRC2 second-stage series and has expanded community engagement through educational opportunities, community partnerships and outreach initiatives.
“We are enormously grateful to Joe for his deep-rooted contributions to PlayMakers,” said McKay Coble, Interim Chair of UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art.” Joe has shown great vision, creativity and leadership, taking our theater into international focus with his exemplary artistry and diverse, exciting programming choices. We are proud of Joe and wish him all the best for his future role at the Guthrie. PlayMakers has been part of the fabric of UNC and the region for nearly 40 years. We are beginning the search for new leadership as we approach this milestone anniversary in 2015-16.”
Haj, a 1988 graduate of UNC’s Master of Fine Arts Professional Actor Training Program, has a long history working in regional theater, from the Guthrie to Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Folger Theater in Washington, D.C., and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he is currently directing a new production of Shakespeare’s “Pericles.”
Based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence in the Department of Dramatic Art.
PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 962-5359, cmahan@email.unc.edu