Leadership

Hana Sharif's multi-faceted theatre career includes roles as an artistic leader, director, playwright and producer with a specialty in strategic and cross-functional leadership. She served for five years as Associate Artistic Director at Baltimore Center Stage, where she oversaw the day-to-day execution of all of the mainstage and studio productions, and was the architect of the innovative CS Digital program: a platform that pushes the boundaries of traditional theatre and looks at the nexus point between art and technology. Her other achievements at Baltimore Center Stage include prototyping the Mobile Unit, strengthening community engagement, producing multiple world and regional premieres and helping to guide the theatre through a multi-million dollar building renovation and rebranding effort.

In 2012, Hana served as the inaugural Program Manager of the ArtsEmerson Ambassador Program and launched ArtsEmerson Artist-In-Residency program featuring playwright Daniel Beaty. In addition to her work at ArtsEmerson, Hana leveraged her regional theatre experience to freelance produce for smaller theatre companies, looking to expand and restructure their administrative teams. Hana served as developmental producer and program manager for Progress Theatre in Houston, where she consulted with the Artistic Director on redefining the artistic vision and subsequent recasting of the ensemble company and lead strategic organizational planning focused on LORT market entry.

During her decade-long tenure at Hartford Stage, Hana Sharif served as the Associate Artistic Director, Director of New Play Development, and Artistic Producer at Hartford Stage. Hana launched the new play development program, expanded the community engagement and civic discourse initiatives, and developed and produced Tony, Grammy, Pulitzer, and Obie award-winning shows.

From 1997 – 2003, Hana served as the co-founder and Artistic Director of Nasir Productions, a theatre dedicated underrepresented voices to challenge traditional structure. Her guest lecturer credits include Spelman College, Sewanee University, Prairie View A&M, Emerson College Maggie Flanigan Studio, Towson University, UMD, UConn, UMass, University of Hartford, among others.

Additionally, Hana has directed acclaimed productions of Fun Home, Sense & Sensibility, The Christians, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Pride & Prejudice (DCArts: Best Director/Best New Play), The Whipping Man, Gem of the Ocean (six CCC nominations), Gee’s Bend (CCC Award Best Ensemble, two nominations), Next Stop Africa, Cassie, The Drum, and IFdentity. Hana has directed numerous developmental workshops, including Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s The Chat and Chew Supper Club, Janine Nabers’ A Swell in the Ground, and Marcus Gardley’s The House That Will Not Stand. Her plays include All the Women I Used to Be, The Rise and Fall of Day, and The Sprott Cycle Trilogy.

Hana holds a BA from Spelman College and an MFA from the University of Houston. She is the recipient of the 2009–10 Aetna New Voices Fellowship, EMC Arts Working Open Fellowship, and Theatre Communications Group (TCG) New Generations Fellowship. She serves on the board of directors for the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and the Sprott Foundation.

Since he assumed the management leadership of The Rep in 1987, the theatre has enjoyed growth and stability, strong community support, and responsible financial management. New programming initiatives have included enhanced educational programs and the introduction of the Off-Ramp series.

Favorite shows from 30 seasons at The Rep include Candide, The Voice of the Prairie, Terra Nova, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, Six Degrees of Separation, Young Rube, The Living, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, The Life of Galileo, Arcadia, Sweeney Todd, An Ideal Husband, Into the Woods, Inherit the Wind, Proof, The Crucible, Take Me Out, The Little Dog Laughed, Souvenir, Crime and Punishment, Red, Sunday in the Park with George, and, of course, the great Shaw plays: Saint Joan, Pygmalion and Man and Superman.

He has been active in the leadership of the League of Resident Theatres, having served as vice president for three years, an executive committee member for more than 10 years, and as a member of numerous national negotiating committees. He has taught in Webster University’s Arts Leadership Program and in the Nonprofit Management Center at Washington University, has served on the board of directors of the Arts and Education Council and on the citizens advisory panel for the Regional Arts Commission. Before coming to St. Louis, he spent six years at the Philadelphia Drama Guild and taught financial management for nonprofit arts institutions at Drexel University.

He is a Sondheim fanatic, and travels the world in search of the perfect Sweeney Todd, the best goat cheese tarts and the best chocolate desserts.

Acosta Powell most recently served as line producer at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a Tony Award-winning organization that stands as one of the preeminent destinations for American regional theatre. Before that, she worked as the casting director and artistic associate at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Georgetown University (where she dual-majored in theatre and Spanish), Acosta Powell’s wide-ranging artistic career includes producing and directing plays throughout the D.C. area.

In 2017, American Theatre magazine named her as a rising star in the industry as part of its “Theatre Workers You Should Know” series.