‘Jay’s positive impact on Sound Theatre is impossible to overstate’: Four-time Gregory Award Theatre of the Year recipient makes big changes
SEATTLE, WA — Ahead of its 2021 season, Sound Theatre looks to the future with new executive-level leadership. We are excited to name Jay O’ Leary-Woods as Co-Artistic Director, effective immediately. She will lead alongside founding Artistic Director Teresa Thuman.
O’Leary-Woods has served as Associate Artistic Director since 2018. She directed the acclaimed CITIZEN: AN AMERICAN LYRIC (2019) and REPARATIONS (2020), which both surpassed all audience attendance records in Sound Theatre’s 14-season history. “In many ways this just formalizes what has been true for a while: Jay and I have forged an artistic and activist partnership in the last two years that will only strengthen the direction of Sound Theatre,” said Thuman. “Jay is a natural leader and I am honored and humbled to learn from her everyday.”
As Sound Theatre pursues an anti-racist agenda, we look to Jay and Teresa’s partnership to overhaul the artistic leadership model to democratize, give voice to, and enhance the theatre’s vision and mission.
O’Leary-Woods brings a wealth of experience from roles at local theatre companies like Seattle Rep, Seattle Public Theater, Intiman Theatre, ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, Village Theatre, and ACT Theatre, among others. She has been invited as a guest lecturer at several universities, most recently Duke and Carnegie Mellon.
“Jay’s positive impact on Sound Theatre is impossible to overstate,” says Patrick Lennon, Sound Theatre Company Board President. “This kind of leadership development is exactly what we want to be fostering at Sound Theatre, so the board is thrilled that she is taking on this new executive role.”
“I have long admired the level of risk-taking that Teresa Thuman has been able to do against all odds. Our leadership styles complement each other in a way that fosters curiosity and bravery not only in one another, but within the staff and board as a whole. Together, we make a very special team,” said O’Leary-Woods.
O’Leary-Woods returns from the U.K. to Seattle ready to lead in 2021 and beyond, with her Master’s Degree in Directing in hand.
Learn more about Sound Theatre at www.soundtheatrecompany.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
Aimee Chou (she/hers), Public Relations Coordinator
(206) 850-6711 | media@soundtheatrecompany.org