(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJRep), Long Branch’s award-winning professional theatre, has announced Dee Dee Irwin (she/her) as the new Managing Director effective October 3, 2022. In her new role, Irwin will be responsible for audience development, strategic planning, operations, technology, education, marketing and community outreach for the organization.
“I am thrilled and honored to join NJRep,” said Ms. Irwin, “I look forward to partnering with the amazing and talented staff and board as we lead this organization into a new and exciting phase. I also can’t wait to become more acquainted with the City of Long Branch and work together to further strengthen the relationships between NJRep and the local, state and global community. Together we will continue the mission of NJRep to make a long-lasting impact on the new plays of the American stage.”
The Los Angeles native has an extensive background in theatre and event production, as well as marketing, and development in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Irwin comes to NJRep from Laguna Beach, CA where she recently served as the Director of Marketing and Communications/Associate Producer for Laguna Playhouse. During her nine-year tenure there, she served in a key senior leadership role supporting the theatre's needs as it expanded the scope of productions and community programming. She also oversaw the 100th anniversary branding campaign, and implemented strategies that increased ticketing revenue.
Irwin arrives at a time of significant growth for NJRep. Executive Director Gabor Barabas noted, “We are very excited to welcome Dee Dee Irwin as the new Managing Director of NJRep. Her passion for the arts, combined with her extensive background in supporting new and innovative theatre is a perfect match for us.”
Artistic Director SuzAnne Barabas adds, “Dee Dee is a life-long advocate for inclusiveness, and brings with her a strong vision for NJRep’s future and for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. We look forward to her joining our team.”
The New Jersey Repertory Company was founded in 1997 by SuzAnne and Gabor Barabas. Its current central headquarters is the Lumia Theater located on lower Broadway in Long Branch. The theater's mission is to develop and produce new plays and to make a lasting contribution to the American Stage. Over 25 years NJ Rep has produced over 150 plays of which 130 have been world premieres. The theater has the additional distinction of having had many of its plays produced by other theaters around the country totaling over 200 subsequent productions in the U.S. and overseas.
In 2012 and 2018 NJ Rep was the recipient of a National Theater Company Grant from the American Theater Wing that sponsors the annual Tony Awards for Broadway in recognition of its contribution to the repertoire of the American Stage. In addition to its productions, the theater has presented over 400 developmental readings as well as introduced 140 new works through its Theatre Brut Short-Play Festivals that focus on visionary and avant-garde works.
In May 2016, NJ Rep acquired a new property, a 28,000 square foot school situated on 2 ½ acres and located just five minutes from its Main Stage Lumia Theater and two blocks from the Jersey Shore. The theater plans on gradually transforming the school in stages into a cultural center that will house additional performance spaces, an art cinema, an art museum, a rooftop café, an arts education wing, and residences for out-of-town actors and playwrights. When completed, the center will present a wide array of programs in acting, playwriting, art, sculpture, poetry, music, and photography and will serve as a catalyst for economic development and as the foundation for the cultural renaissance of the community.
NJ Rep thanks the following for their support: The Shubert Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, SBA Shuttered Venues Program, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, New Jersey CRF, NJEDA, JENNJOE Fund, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, OceanFirst Foundation, Princeton Area Community Foundation, Manasquan Bank, Community Foundation of New Jersey, Monmouth County CARES, Investors Bank Foundation, Jewish Communal Fund, Darien Family Fund, Vasi Laurence, Linda Mitchell, Caroline Huber.
