Dámaso Rodríguez Announced as Seattle Rep’s Next Artistic Director

SEATTLE, WA (July 25, 2023) – Following a national search, Seattle Rep today announced Dámaso Rodríguez as its next artistic director, effective July 31. From the rehearsal room to the board room, Dámaso has more than two decades of vision and experience at all levels of artistic leadership, including nine years as the head of another Pacific Northwest mainstay, Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon. He also brings an impressive track record of producing classic works while commissioning and developing new plays that have captured the imagination of audiences across the nation.  

Chair of Seattle Rep’s Board of Trustees and Co-Chair of the Search Committee Jarvis Bowers said, “In selecting Dámaso, Seattle Rep not only benefits from his impressive record of creative productions, but also his commitment to engaging the full Seattle community in Seattle Rep’s vision of ‘theater at the heart of public life.’ He stood out among a robust slate of talented national candidates, which to me speaks to the quality of Seattle Rep’s work, as well as excitement about Seattle’s ever-growing cultural landscape.”

Ready for the challenge

Rodríguez has produced and directed a broad range of new and classic plays at some of the country’s most prominent regional theaters. In 2023, plays developed during Rodríguez’s tenure at Artists Rep opened on Broadway (The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse), Off-Broadway (Wolf Play by Hansol Jung), and in a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere (American Fast by Kareem Fahmy).

Dámaso is a co-founder of Los Angeles' Furious Theatre, “one of the fastest-rising ensembles in L.A. stage history” (LA Stage Magazine), where he served for 11 years as co-artistic director. He spent eight seasons in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he served as associate artistic director to Sheldon Epps, followed by nine seasons as artistic director of Artists Rep. He has spent the past two years as vice president of Arts Consulting Group, advising theaters across the U.S. on strategic planning and special projects, and developing a valuable national perspective on producing in a post-COVID environment.

Rodríguez said, "I am honored to be joining Seattle Rep and building upon its storied, vibrant, and vital legacy. Seattle Rep's boldly stated vision of ‘theater at the heart of public life’ is exhilarating in its simplicity, ambition, and absolute necessity. I look forward to collaborating with managing director Jeffrey Herrmann, the staff, board, patrons, partners, volunteers and Seattle's extraordinary theater community to devise Seattle Rep's next chapter."

Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann said, “As we look ahead to our 60th birthday this fall, I am delighted to welcome Dámaso to Seattle Rep and partner with him to lead the theater into its next 60 years of activity. All across the country, this is a time of significant upheaval but also tremendous opportunity for the performing arts, and I believe Dámaso’s artistic vision, deep commitment to community, and his personal integrity are precisely what we need at this moment of change."

"I am so excited for Seattle artists and audiences to get to know Dámaso, and I can’t wait for us to get started.”

Dámaso was selected to lead Seattle Rep following a national search prompted by the departure of former Artistic Director Braden Abraham in January 2023.