Kent Nicholson
MFA Dramatic Art (Directing), 1996
is New Works Director for TheatreWorks of San Francisco. Previously he was associate artistic director at the Magic Theatre, where he produced the Raw Play: Script-in-Hand series and directed the world premiere of Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue and the American premiere of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones, as well as Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock (winner of Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for Best Production, Best New Play and Best Ensemble) and The Water Engine for Shotgun Players. Kent has twice directed special presentations of the disputed Shakespeare play Edward III for the California Shakespeare Festival. Kent has also served as producing director for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, producing such writers as Holly Hughes, Naomi Iizuka, Brighde Mullins, Robert Alexander, Jorge Cortinas, and Carlos Murillo. Kent shared with us what the UC Davis Granada Artists-in-Residence program has meant to him: Quite simply, the Granada Artists in Residence Program made my success possible. These directors taught me what it meant to be professional while still maintaining the ability and need to explore my work artistically. Several of them have remained colleagues and professional contacts over the years. Without my experience in this program, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today.”