METROPOLIS SELECTS BRENDAN RAGAN AS NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

After a nationwide search, Metropolis’ Board of Directors announces acclaimed theatre artist Brendan Ragan as the company’s new Artistic Director. Ragan is the founding Co-Artistic Director of the award-winning Urbanite Theatre, a Florida-based company known regionally for producing bold, inventive new works.

Interim Artistic Director Robbie Simpson, who has been at Metropolis since directing Cabaret in September, will collaborate in this transition before his return to New York City. 

Metropolis Board President Stephen Daday says of the transition, “We are embarking on a new day for Metropolis. We conducted a nationwide search in conjunction with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland and received resumes from an enormous number of applicants. Brendan brings a wealth of compassion, empathy, passion, and high-quality production value to Metropolis. I believe donors, subscribers, patrons, staff, and the talented artists who grace our stage will be very excited for what is to come.” 

As founding Co-Artistic Director of Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, Ragan has developed a reputation as an accomplished director and innovative theatrical producer. “Blending my experience with challenging new work with the productions that delight Arlington Heights will be a great thrill for audiences and artists alike. We are going to tell wonderful stories with the highest degree of professionalism," says Ragan. “Metropolis has been making a tremendous impact in Arlington Heights for over 20 years. However, it became clear to me right away that the organization is much more than a neighborhood theater. From the important endeavors at the School of the Performing Arts to the many dozens of exciting, presented works throughout the year, MPAC has the rare merit of being not just a professional theater but a vital cultural center. I’m ecstatic to join this organization.” 

Over the next month of leadership transition, Ragan will collaborate extensively with current Interim Artistic Director Robbie Simpson. This joint effort will include artistic team choices for the 2023-24 season, to be announced later in the year and include the ongoing efforts to ensure Metropolis is an essential resource and artistic hub in Chicago and the Chicagoland communities. 


Robbie Simpson embraces the new Artistic Director, stating, “I am thrilled to welcome Brendan Ragan to the Metropolis Performing Arts Center. His dedication to bringing high-caliber productions to this community will make him an excellent leader not just in Arlington Heights but in the Chicago theater community, as well. This is an exciting time for Metropolis." Simpson will return to Metropolis this fall to direct the 2023-2024 Season opener, to be announced at the Metropolis Celebration Gala on April 29, at the Cotillion Banquet Hall in Palatine.

Ragan will begin his tenure as the new Artistic Director on April 24, 2023.

ABOUT BRENDAN RAGAN

Brendan Ragan (he/him/his) is a theatremaker with two decades of award-winning professional experience as an actor, director, and producer. Brendan was the founding Co-Artistic Director of Sarasota's Urbanite Theatre, where he directed the regional premieres of The Smuggler by Ronán Noone, Sender by Ike Holter, Wakey, Wakey by Will Eno, The Drowning Girls by Graham, Vlaskalic, and Tomlinson, The Burdens by Matt Schatz, among others. In addition, he directed the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Jacqueline Goldfinger's Backwards Forwards Back and wrote and directed Urbanite's original immersive experience Safe House. 

Brendan has been a champion of new works, producing plays by playwrights like Larissa FastHorse, Aaron Posner, Lauren Yee, Hannah Benitez, Sheila Callaghan, Franky Gonzalez, and Duncan Macmillan. For Single Carrot Theatre in Baltimore, Brendan directed the world premiere productions of La Muñeca, Illuminoctem, and A Short Reunion and American Stage's world premiere adaptation of Tartuffe by Robert Caisley. 

Regional directing credits include the Odyssey Play Festival, ThinkTank Theatre, Hermitage Artist Retreat, and the FSU/Asolo Conservatory (Handy Award Winner - Best Direction, Reckless). Acting credits include Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Stageworks, Asolo Rep, CENTERSTAGE, Waterside Theatre, Gorilla Theatre (Theatre Tampa Bay Award for Best Performance in An Iliad), and Nebraska Shakespeare. BFA, University of Colorado, 2006. MFA, FSU/Asolo Conservatory 2013. www.brendanragan.com

ABOUT METROPOLIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

Metropolis Theatre and School of the Performing Arts offer inspirational live entertainment, imaginative arts education, and impactful community partnerships within Chicago’s Northwest Suburbs, delivering artistic excellence, shared multi-generational connections, and inclusive experiences that engage our community.

Located in downtown Arlington Heights, IL, Metropolis is one of Chicago’s Northwest Suburbs' leading venues for quality entertainment ranging from a Main Stage subscription series to rock, country, comedy, and cabaret concerts. The complex has a 329-seat theater, four classrooms, and thirteen music studios. Metropolis School of Performing Arts serves over 2,500 students annually through group classes, individual lessons, and seasonal performance camps. Each year, our Stories in Action (Theatre for Young Audiences) gives more than 18,000 students an exciting theatre-going experience to enhance their school curriculum. In addition, our Community Engagement programs bring the arts to individuals with unique and different needs and seniors.

Metropolis is located at 111 W. Campbell Street in downtown Arlington Heights. Street parking is available. Free parking is available in the public garage behind the theater. For more information about Metropolis and a listing of upcoming performances, go to MetropolisArts.com.

All proceeds benefit Metropolis’ theatrical arts and education programs. Metropolis is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Metropolis Performing Arts Centre acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Filament Theatre Announces New Artistic Leadership With Molly Bunder and Rejinal Simon as Co-Artistic Directors

Filament Theatre Artistic Director Julie Ritchey, who co-founded the innovative theater for young audiences 15 years ago, is stepping down from her leadership post as she and her family embark on a new adventure. Filament’s board of directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Filament resident artists Molly Bunder And Rejinal Simon as co-artistic directors of the Northwest Side theater.

 

The board of directors has selected resident artists Molly Bunder (left) and Rejinal Simon (right) as co-artistic directors of the innovative Northwest Side theater.

Both Bunder and Simon have worked alongside Ritchey for many years, building Filament into a beloved Chicago institution for young people, their families, and a dedicated crew of collaborators.

“After eight years watching and supporting Filament's growth, I am excited to accept this new role,” said Bunder, who had served as Filament’s education director. “As families return to live performance, we will continue to reimagine theater for young audiences and to make space and time for connection and community."

Both Bunder and Simon view theater as a tool for community engagement and empowerment - a core principle of their shared vision for Filament. In her new position, Bunder will expand and oversee the role of young people as dramaturgs, curators, and essential collaborators on Filament productions - borrowing from her over 10 years of experience as a teaching artist and professional actor. As a casting director, performer, producer, and founding member of Filament’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access committee, Simon’s role will pay particular attention to the experiences of the theater’s adult professional artists.

Simon added, "As a younger performer fresh out of undergraduate school, Filament is the first professional setting in which I felt seen, fully, as an artist and an individual. It is my hope to share this feeling with every single person who walks through Filament’s doors. In joining this graciously bold team of creators, I look forward to continuing to invest in Filament’s stakeholders and expanding our community and the families we reach.”

In recent years, Filament has deepened its artistic vision through commitment to youth leadership, launching the internationally acclaimed SPARK program in which young people curate the theater’s new-work commissions and then collaborate on the projects alongside professional artists. Decentralizing artistic leadership is the next major step in Filament’s efforts to build a business model that authentically centers the perspectives of young people.

“For 15 years, Julie has been an extraordinary founding artistic director for Filament Theatre. Her talent and creativity as a storyteller have won critical praise and built a loyal audience that returns to Filament again and again, even during a global pandemic,” said Jackie Intres, president of Filament’s board of directors. “However, it has been her tireless pursuit of a company that embraces radical collaboration with young people that will truly be her lasting legacy and contribution to the Chicago theater community as well as to the international community of theaters for young audiences. The board of directors is truly grateful for her visionary leadership.

 

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are thrilled to welcome Molly Bunder and Rejinal Simon as Filament's new co-artistic directors. In her role as education director for Filament, Molly conceptualized and executed several new and expanded programs to welcome young people into the artistic process. In his role as associate artistic director, Reji led and motivated production teams, ensuring that productions could be safe, supportive and fulfilling for both artists and audiences during and after the pandemic. Together, we believe the care and commitment they have demonstrated for the Filament community, their artistic vision and their wide range of leadership experiences make them the perfect combination to lead Filament into our next chapter."

Ritchey will remain actively involved with the field of Theater for Young Audiences on a national and international scope as an independent director, playwright, educator, and advocate for the artform based out of Brisbane, Australia.

ABOUT FILAMENT THEATRE: Filament Theatre, on Chicago’s Northwest Side, has been creating innovative theater for young audiences since 2007. Filament’s mission is to create a more equitable society by celebrating and amplifying the perspectives and experiences of young people through the performing arts.

4041 N MILWAUKEE AVE. CHICAGO IL 60641 - (773) 270-1660 - WWW.FILAMENTTHEATRE.ORG