ANNOUNCEMENT

BOSTON – March 27, 2025 – Following a six-month nationwide search, the Board of Directors for SpeakEasy Stage Company has announced the appointment of award-winning theater 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.  SpeakEasy Stage’s Board of Directors co-chairs Andrew Fullem and Constance Gist Guindo, expressed excitement for Simmons‘s appointment.

“Dawn is one of Boston’s leading theater directors, and she was approved unanimously by the Board for this position,” Fullem says. “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.” 

“Dawn’s experience working with SpeakEasy, both as a director and as a co-producing partner positions her perfectly to take the helm,” Gist Guindo says. “Her knowledge of the Boston community and her vision for how to marry theater with community and audience engagement make her the ideal leader for SpeakEasy in this moment.”

Simmons, (l., photo by Nile Scott Studios) 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. 

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, and a broader community of artists who have worked with the company. The Committee reviewed nearly 100 interested candidates from 15 states and three countries.

SpeakEasy Executive Director David Beardsley says “Dawn understands SpeakEasy. She is committed to our mission, she’s familiar with our audiences, and she has an exciting vision for how to move the company forward at an undeniably challenging time for the theater sector. Her artistic vision fits so well with SpeakEasy’s commitment to producing Boston and New England premieres of contemporary plays and musicals that are bold and entertaining, and feature Boston’s exceptional talent. This is an exciting moment for SpeakEasy. Dawn is the ideal person to take up our artistic reins.”

Reflecting on her new role, Simmons says “I’ve admired the incredible team at SpeakEasy for years, and I have been fortunate to collaborate with them in myriad ways. 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!”

ABOUT DAWN M. SIMMONS

Simmons’s reach and experience in the Greater Boston theater community has been significant. In 2016, along with Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Simmons co-founded – and has since served as Co-Producing Artistic Director for – The Front Porch Arts Collective, Boston’s leading Black theater company committed to advancing racial equity in Boston through theater. “The Porch,” as it’s known, and SpeakEasy are regular collaborators, having co-produced three shows (“Pass Over,” “A Strange Loop,” and “Ain’t No Mo’”). Beardsley says the organizations remain committed to working together.

In 2008, Simmons co-founded her first theater company, New Exhibition Room, which was dedicated to producing provocative, political and affordable theater events. She served as Executive Director of the service organization StageSource, where she focused on workforce development and sector improvement in New England theater. Much of Simmons’ work has shone a light on social and social justice issues, and encouraged theater makers, cultural leaders and audiences to understand, examine and address them. 

Simmons has directed a wide array of award-winning productions in Boston and beyond including shows at Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Central Square Theater, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Gloucester Stage, Greater Boston Stage Company, the Huntington, Lyric Stage Company, New Repertory Theatre, and Wheelock Family Theatre (all in Greater Boston), at New England-based JAG Productions (White River Junction, Vt.) and WAM Theatre (Lenox, Mass.), and across the country at Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Play On Shakespeare (Ashland, Ore.) and The Hangar Theatre (Ithaca, NY).

Simmons holds the 2024/25 Monan Professorship in Theatre Arts at Boston College, which brings renowned theater artists to work and teach at the campus for one year. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University and has worked with Berklee College of Music, Suffolk University, Brandeis University, Harvard University and others.

Daigneault and Simmons have been close colleagues for years, collaborating on projects, providing each other creative counsel and addressing mutual concerns for the regional theater scene. As Simmons says, “Paul was instrumental in shaping the theatrical landscape of our city. He brought us work that was bold, thought-provoking, challenging, nostalgic and inspiring, setting a high bar for excellence in Boston. Through his efforts, he created opportunities for artists to thrive and find a true home here.”

Daigneault says leading SpeakEasy has been the privilege of a lifetime: “I’m excited to collaborate on this transitional period with an artist and leader for whom I have such affection and respect. I am confident Dawn’s exceptional talents will propel the company to even greater heights.”

Simmons begins her new role July 1, as SpeakEasy starts its 35th Season.  

REFLECTIONS on the NEWS FROM CULTURAL LEADERS

Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Co-Founding Artistic Producer, Front Porch Arts Collective

​”Personally and professionally, I am overjoyed. I couldn’t be more thrilled for this next phase in Dawn’s career.  She’s going to a company that has meant a lot to me as an artist. Our work together at Front Porch Arts Collective made me a better administrator​ and a better​ collaborator — that will come in handy as our companies continue to collaborate. Dawn and I created​ The Porch to further the careers of artists of color. ​S​he ​leaves us at a time​ of exceptional strength for The Porch​ on all fronts​. ​I​’m excited for Dawn’s new journey — and ​excited to ​create the next chapter of ​t​he company we built together.​”

Awoye Timpo, Nationally Known Theater Director

“As an artistic leader, Dawn is collaborative, forward-thinking, and deeply engaged with the evolving landscape of theater. She understands the power of telling stories that expand our collective imagination and spark dynamic conversation.”

Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council

Dawn Simmons was one of the very first people I called when I was thinking about making the leap to Boston for my first arts job here. From day one, she welcomed me with open arms — even brought me into the new leadership gathering at StageSource right before the world turned upside down. When the pandemic hit, I had the joy of teaming up with her to reimagine digital programming at New Repertory Theatre, and that collaboration sparked a friendship and creative partnership that’s meant the world to me. Dawn is a brilliant artist, a visionary leader, and a true gem in our community. I couldn’t be more excited to see her step into this new chapter at SpeakEasy Stage Company — they’re lucky to have her.

Courtney O’Connor, Producing Artistic Director, Lyric Stage Company

“The Lyric Stage has been fortunate to share Dawn’s creative vision, energy, and passion with our audiences multiple times, and I look forward to watching her share all of this and more with SpeakEasy as their new Artistic Director.”

ABOUT SPEAKEASY STAGE

Now in its 34th year, SpeakEasy Stage is an award-winning, not-for-profit, 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. In addition, as part of its mission to build and support a thriving local theatre scene, SpeakEasy works with hundreds of Massachusetts-based actors, directors, designers, and technicians each year, and trains early-career artists through its emerging artist and fellowship programs. From its humble 40-seat beginnings, the company has emerged as a leader in Boston’s theatre community, a champion of diverse and emerging voices, and a staunch proponent of the transformative power of theatre to bring about social change.   SpeakEasyStage.com