Leadership

Loretta Greco (Artistic Director) is an artistic director, producer, and director with over two decades of artistic leadership experience. Her passion is championing groundbreaking artists whose work asks robust questions about our humanity, and fostering a nurturing, rigorous artistic home for extraordinary theatremakers and audiences.

Her freelance directing career spans the spectrum from reimagined classics to musicals and world premieres. Greco’s impact on the field is significant. 20 of the 26 world premieres she developed and produced have gone on to have to subsequent productions in New York and throughout the country (in 24 states) and internationally. Highlights include: the world premieres of Oedipus el Rey by Luis Alfaro; Hir by Taylor Mac; Don’t Eat the Mangos by Ricardo Perez Gonzalez; American Hwangap by Lloyd Suh; and the chamber opera Arlington by Victor Lodato and Polly Pen. Large scale productions include the Magic Theatre’s rolling world premiere of Taylor Mac’s five-hour allegory, The Lily’s Revenge with 36 performers and 6 women directors; the repertory of Mfoniso Udofia’s Sojourners and runboyrun; Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters; and Barbara Hammond’s The Eva Trilogy among others. During her tenure at the Magic Theatre, playwrights have been recognized as Pulitzer finalists, Tony Award nominees, Herb Alpert honorees, Academy Award winners, and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipients.

Throughout her career, Greco has worked diligently to seek and create exciting community partnerships. Her community collaborations at the Magic included Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music in association with The Curran Theatre, Pomegranate Arts, and Stanford Live; the repertory of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Brother/Sister Plays with ACT and Marin Theatre Company, and the Sheparding America celebration with ACT, Campo Santo, Crowded Fire, and Word for Word, among others. A passionate community builder, Greco spearheaded Magic’s Tenderloin Arts and Community programs for youth and adults and the Magic Laney College collaboration.

Greco has directed both premieres and reimagined classics in New York, San Francisco, and throughout the country. She directed Calderon’s Life is a Dream for Cal Shakes, and critically acclaimed American revivals such as Fool for Love by Sam Shepard for Magic and Speed the Plow by David Mamet for American Conservatory Theater. She also developed and directed the world premiere of Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s Lackawanna Blues for The Public Theater and directed the national tour of Emily Mann’s Having Our Say and its international premiere at the historic Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In addition to her long tenure as Magic Theatre’s Artistic Director, she has served as Producing Artistic Director of New York’s WP Theater (formerly known as the Women’s Project) where she championed and produced a who’s who of theatre women including, Liesl Tommy, Annie Dorsen, Anne Kaufman, Lisa D’Amour, Katie Pearl, Leigh Silverman, and Diane Paulus, among many others. As Associate Director and staff producer of the McCarter Theatre Center, Greco originated their Second Stage-On-Stage festival, commissioning and producing plays from dozens of writers, including Nilo Cruz, Adrienne Kennedy, and Doug Wright, while line producing mainstage premieres such as Anna Deveare Smith’s Twilight, Athol Fugard’s Valley Song, Stephen Wadsworth’s The Triumph of Love, and Mann’s Having Our Say which then moved to Broadway.

Greco has taught at UCSD and at Brown University. She has served on TCG/Fox, ART/ New York, Pew Center for Arts, Drama League, and Herb Alpert Foundation panels. She is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect and the recipient of Bay Area Critic’s Association Awards, Drama League fellowships, the Princess Grace Award, a Sundance/Luma Director’s fellowship, the 2018 Zelda Fichandler Award, the 2019 Gene Price Award, an honorary Acting Degree from American Conservatory Theatre, and the 2020 Sam Shepard Legacy Award. She is the proud mother of Sophia Greco Brill.

(As of February 2022)

Christopher Mannelli (Executive Director) is a seasoned theatre executive with a track record of strategic thinking and sound organizational leadership during periods of transition and growth. He has forged deep and meaningful connections with various local communities, and been responsible for innovative and successful fundraising and audience engagement initiatives. 

As the Executive Director and Co-CEO of Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY since 2016, he oversaw the successful completion of the $10 million Front and Center Campaign, increasing their endowment and exceeding campaign goals. He managed the renovation and modernization of Geva’s theatre lobby, kitchen, bar, and audience seating, while also raising the company’s local and national profile and producing some of their most successful productions, including nine world premiere plays and musicals.  

He has been a leader in the Geva Theatre Center’s anti-racism efforts, and successfully led the theatre through the global pandemic shutdown as well as their artistic director search and transition in 2022.  

Prior to his seven years in Rochester, Chris held several key leadership positions in Chicago: first as deputy director of the esteemed Chicago Shakespeare Theater where he oversaw operations and helped to produce the theatre’s “World Stage” international programming, including their first-ever tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; and then as managing director of Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater, leading the renowned company for five years during a period of reorganization and strategic planning. He was also the managing director of HotCity Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri before moving to Chicago. 

He has served on the board of directors for the national League of Resident Theatres (LORT). In Chicago, he served on the boards of the League of Chicago Theatres, Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, and Emerald City Theatre, and as a steering committee member for Enrich Chicago (a group of arts organizations in Chicago working collectively to address racial equity). 

 In New York, he has served on the New York State Council on the Arts’ Theatre advisory panel, the corporate board for the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center, and the board of Rochester Downtown Development Corporation (RDDC) as a member of the executive and nominating committees.  

 Chris grew up on Long Island and began his career as an actor and a musician, touring nationally and internationally. He holds a BA in opera performance from the SUNY Geneseo School of Performing Arts, an MFA in arts leadership from DePaul University, and an Executive Scholars Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. 

(As of August 2023)

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