Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Dallas.
Shakespeare Dallas has announced a new executive director, following its 50th season.
Karen Raehpour will take the lead of the organization starting Nov. 14. She was appointed by the board of directors and found through a national search guided by Martin Bragg & Associates.
“I have always been a great lover of Shakespeare’s timeless stories,” Raehpour says in a press release. “These classics still resonate in today’s complex and often volatile world. His poetry teaches, inspires and informs, touching hearts and minds. It is imperative that we continue to make this author available and accessible to Dallas audiences for many years to come.”
Karen Raehpour. Photo courtesy of Shakespeare Dallas.
In her new role, she will be responsible for a swath of roles including: strategy and leadership of the staff and the board of directors; marketing and audience development; company management and sustainability; fundraising; audience engagement; and diversity, equity and inclusion. She joins artistic director Raphael Parry as the other part of the management team.
Raehpour, who has a theater degree from Northwestern University, has been a professional equity actor in Chicago and Los Angeles and has participated in over 100 productions. She comes to Shakespeare Dallas with 25 years of business management experience, including by leading the sales and marketing departments of several multi-million dollar manufacturing companies. She has owned two event-planning businesses, and most recently, she was managing partner of RK Meetings and Events.
Originally known as the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, Shakespeare Dallas was founded by Bob Glenn in 1972. It is perhaps most famous for its Shakespeare in the Park program, which is held at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater in East Dallas.
The company put on performances of Hamlet, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and The Tempest during its 50th season. Over the years, Shakespeare Dallas has shown productions of many of Shakespeare’s plays and welcomed several notable actors including Sigourney Weaver and Morgan Freeman.
