Hana Sharif welcomes Regina Taylor and Adena Varner to creative team
American staff
When Steven Woolf selected Hana S. Sharif to follow in his legendary footsteps as the Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis last summer, a door of diversity and inclusion was opened within the leadership of the nationally acclaimed regional theater company.
The past few weeks have seen Sharif use the same door to usher two Black women into significant creative roles within the organization. First, The Rep announced that Award-winning actress and playwright Regina Taylor was named Playwright-in-Residence.
“We are thrilled to have Regina Taylor’s multi-disciplinary artistry and activism integrated into The Rep’s artistic and community programming models for three years,” Sharif said. “Over the course of her residency, we look forward to collaborating on innovative artistic forms, grassroots community building and developing new work for the national canon.”
The residency, funded in collaboration with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and HowlRound Theatre Commons, provides three years of funding for a diverse group of American playwrights to embed with selected theatres around the country.
“My goal is to create work that speaks to community,” said Taylor. “I believe the arts flow through everything, and I live and breathe it. That’s who I am and what I do. I’m very excited about this opportunity.”
Most recently seen in Episode 9 of HBO’s critically acclaimed drama “Lovecraft Country,” Taylor is a Golden Globe and NAACP Image Award-winning actress best known for her starring role in the mid-century NBC period drama “I’ll Fly Away.” As a playwright, Taylor penned “Crowns.” The musical celebrates Black identity and offers insight on the Black experience from the perspective of faith – and the opulent hat fashions that have been synonymous with Black church fashion for centuries.
“Crowns” was a part of the Rep’s 2004-2005 season. Nationally the show has become a popular touring production within the Black musical theater canon since it debuted nearly two decades ago.
Taylor’s first piece with The Rep, titled Love and Kindness in the Time of Quarantine, reflects her investment in the artistic voices of St. Louis.
“I am excited to experience the ways Regina’s artistry will be influenced by the richness of the greater St. Louis landscape and in turn how her resonant voice and vision will impact our region,” Sharif said.
Taylor is also currently working with local and national artists to create songs and spoken word pieces that reflect the times.
“I want to partner with a variety of local artists: writers, art-makers, musicians, museums – connecting with the art but also connecting the art to life: policy-makers, social justice groups, health, welfare, education,” said Taylor. “I think Hana is really brilliant. And fierce. I was very happy that she gave a call to extend this invitation to collaborate.”
Verner joins Sharif in St. Louis
In addition to Taylor, The Rep also welcomed Adena Varner as its new director of Learning and Community Engagement.
“We are thrilled to have her on the team as we bring the magic of theatre to our communities and the power of our communities into our theatres,” Sharif said.
A teaching artist, playwright and director, Varner previously held the titles of director of Learning and Social Accountability and Director of Education at Baltimore Center Stage, where she worked with Sharif – who served as associate artistic director before taking helm of The Rep. While there, Varner managed all education, family and civic programming, with a focus on storytelling that reflects and connects all communities and is eager to extend the partnership she and Sharif shared in Baltimore to St. Louis.
“I’m so inspired to bring the departments of education and community engagement together at The Rep so we can be more intentional about how art, life and learning intersect as a community,” Varner said. “I’m excited to join The Rep family and its dedicated staff in serving St. Louis’ children, families and communities in a myriad of ways.”
Varner has been a life-long theatre-lover and artist, graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts’ Theater Department, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Theater at the University of Maryland and obtaining a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from The Catholic University of America.
“Adena is a passionate thought leader in arts education, a gifted facilitator of civic and social discourse and a champion of life-long learning, families and educators,” Sharif said.
For more information, visit www.repstl.org.