Paige Evans has been Artistic Director of Signature Theatre since July 2016. She leads the organization and programs and produces seasons that celebrate playwrights and their bodies of work. During her tenure, she has produced seasons of work by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Lynn Nottage, and Suzan-Lori Parks; and commissioned, developed and produced new plays by Annie Baker, Will Eno, Katori Hall, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Dave Malloy, Dominique Morisseau and Lauren Yee. She has also brought Stephen Adly Guirgis, Samuel D. Hunter, Dave Malloy, Dominique Morisseau, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Ruhl, Anna Deavere Smith, Lauren Yee, and devised theatre collective The Mad Ones to Signature for residencies.
In the seasons programmed by Evans, Signature productions and artists have won a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur “Genius” Award, and Lortel, Obie, Drama Desk, and Actors’ Equity Awards. Signature has also repeatedly received the 50/50 Award for Gender Parity in Theatre.
Before Signature, Evans was the inaugural Artistic Director of LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater. Since its inception in 2008, Evans programmed, developed and produced more than 20 world and New York premieres for LCT3, bringing new artists and new audiences to Lincoln Center Theater, including m , David Adjmi’s STUNNING, Amy Herzog’s 4000 MILES (Pulitzer finalist), Greg Pierce’s SLOWGIRL, Ayad Akhtar’s DISGRACED (2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, transferred to Broadway), the Rude Mech’s STOP HITTING YOURSELF, and Dave Malloy’s PRELUDES. Under Evans’ direction, LCT3 plays and productions – all priced affordably and presented to a wide audience – won the Pulitzer Prize as well as numerous Obie, Lortel, and AUDELCO Awards.
Before LCT3, Evans was Associate Artistic Director at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). At MTC, she championed, commissioned and/or developed scores of new plays, including David Auburn’s Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winning play PROOF, John Patrick Shanley’s Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winning DOUBT, Conor McPherson’s SHINING CITY, Ayub Khan-Din’s EAST IS EAST, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s CHOIR BOY, and David Harrower’s BLACKBIRD.
Evans lived in Rome for three years, where she taught high school and was the Arts Editor of an English-language newspaper and from 1998-2000, Evans lived in Havana, Cuba on a writing fellowship with the Institute of Current World Affairs. She has taught at New School for Drama and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Evans has served on panels and committees for the Steinberg Playwright Awards (2014-2018), the PEN Award, the Horton Foote Prize, the Wasserstein Prize, Theatre Communications Group, and PEW Center grants. She grew up in New York City and lives in Brooklyn. She is a graduate of Harvard College.
