Theatreworks

Caitlin Lowans Tabbed as Artistic Director

Theatreworks at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) has named Caitlin Lowans, who has more than 50 directing credits in Boston and Chicago, as its new artistic director. She takes over the position on August 1.

“I am excited we have found in Caitlin Lowans an energetic leader with a strong artistic vision, to build upon the legacy that my dear friend and colleague, the late Murray Ross, started here in Colorado Springs,” Drew Martorella, executive director of UCCS Presents, said in a press release. “During her recent visit to UCCS, Caitlin left our staff and other key community members invigorated, and I look forward to her joining our team.”

Lowans spent the past three years earning her master of fine arts at Northwestern University in Chicago. She directed The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Passion Play, and Stellaluna at Northwestern. Lowans has studied and worked with Anna Shapiro, artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago; Mary Zimmerman, Manilow resident director at Goodman Theatre in Chicago; Shana Cooper, director in residence at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.; and Michael Rohd, founding artistic director of Sojourn Theatre.

A native of New England, Caitlin previously served as associate artistic director at Stoneham Theatre, now the Greater Boston Stage Company. She directed 52 productions, including Walking the Tightrope, Picnic at Hanging Rock, A Year with Frog and Toad, Romeo and Juliet, My Fair Lady, The Turn of the Screw, and Picnic. She directed five world premiere productions with three companies: Sunfish: The Musical at the Stoneham in Stoneham, Massachusetts, Ryan Landry's M and Pysched! for the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, and The Clytemnestriad and Outlaw Jean for Fresh Ink in Boston. Lowans also directed Avenue Q at Jean's Playhouse in Lincoln, New Hampshire, and In the Summer House for Four Point Theatre Channel in Boston.

Lowans is drawn to both new work and classic plays that allow audiences to experience shared humanity across time and use heightened language and dynamic physicality to engage audiences and create community. “Founding Artistic Director Murray Ross built a dynamic 40-year legacy of challenging and engaging theater,” Lowans said. “I am excited to continue that inspiring tradition of classics that connect us to our past, combined with new works that celebrate a diverse present, so we can imagine an inclusive future. With the new Ent Center for the Arts and the committed arts leaders gathered within, Theatreworks is ready to open its doors even wider to both the artistic and the civic life of the Colorado Springs community. I couldn't be more excited to helm our work.”

The 2018–2019 Theatreworks season begins July 26 with Macbeth, the first of two productions of Shakespeare at the Ranch at Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site. Subscriptions for the full season are on sale at uccspresents.org or by calling 719-255-3232.

June 9, 2018

If you have Shakespearean news to share, e-mail editorial@shakespeareances.com