UNCSA names John Langs dean of the School of Drama
UNCSA has named alumnus John Langs, artistic director of the ACT Contemporary Theatre in Seattle since 2016, the next dean of the School of Drama, effective July 1. Langs will lead the conservatory’s highly ranked Drama program with a focus on interdisciplinary work, new technologies, inclusion in the arts and a focus on student well-being while preparing students for careers in an evolving industry.
Langs was selected from a nationwide search, and will succeed School of Drama Dean Scott Zigler, who has been dean since 2017 and will retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
“I am thrilled to welcome John as the next leader of our School of Drama,” Chancellor Brian Cole said. “With 30 years of leadership in the industry, he is eminently equipped with the vision, expertise and determination to lead the School of Drama into its next era of excellence, and to serve as a passionate advocate for the school and its students, faculty and staff.
John Langs
“John possesses an enduring respect for the legacy of the school and great excitement about the work it has done over the past decade, as well as the drive and enthusiasm to see it continue to move forward,” Chancellor Cole continued. “Throughout his career he has demonstrated an unshakable belief in the power of the arts to change lives.”
Langs said: “I believe there is an incredible opportunity for the School of Drama to play a leadership role in the much-needed evolution of our industry. This is a moment to define a more human-centered training paradigm, to prepare for the new technologies that will act as a force multiplier for artists everywhere, and to explore a deeper definition of inclusion in the arts.
“Most importantly,” he continued, “this is a moment for the school to calibrate the balance between the intense rigor required to learn a craft and the grace required to nurture the individual spirit so that artists and educators can thrive.”
About John Langs
Langs graduated with a B.F.A. from the School of Drama’s directing program in 1996. From 2005-2012, he returned to campus each spring as guest faculty to teach, direct and guide the graduating class though their professional showcase in front of industry representatives.
His first initiative as the artistic director of Seattle’s ACT theater was to collaborate with the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts to build a one-of-a-kind directing fellowship for UNCSA alumni to study the art of directing and artistic direction. Throughout his professional directing career, he has sought out and hired dozens of UNCSA alumni from multiple disciplines.
Since 2019 he has been a member of the board of the Semans Art Fund, a private foundation that provides funding to UNCSA students for summer study, special projects, research and performances, and also provides funding to UNCSA arts deans for special projects that aid and promote the students and faculty of their school.
As artistic director at ACT Contemporary Theatre, Langs has overseen eight successful mainstage seasons, producing up to 10 shows a year with 50 full-time staff including union crews in a 100-year-old building housing two 400-seat League of Resident Theatres (LORT) theaters and three additional small venues. He has presided over 60 productions as artistic director and led collaborations across the community including with Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, The Hansberry Project, and many others. He was deeply involved as director and creative force with The Seagull Project, New Century Theater Company and Seattle Shakespeare. Langs has prioritized the values of equity and belonging and consistently fostered new work centering global majority voices. He has also overseen robust education and community partnership programs.
Langs has managed a $5.8 million annual operating budget, consistently ending the fiscal year in the black. As a fundraiser, he has helped cultivate a donor network that raises approximately $2.1 million in contributed annual revenue through individuals and corporations and has helped retire $2 million of inherited institutional debt.
Before assuming the artistic director post, he served as associate artistic director at ACT Contemporary Theatre (formerly A Contemporary Theatre) from 2012-15.
Langs has 20 years of experience in directing more than 100 professional productions at theaters across the country, including ACT, Playwrights Horizons, Lookingglass Theatre, Seattle Opera, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Ensemble Studio Theatre of New York, Marin Theatre Company, American Players Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, 5th Avenue Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, New York Musical Theatre Festival, Boston Court, and The Delaware Resident Ensemble Players Company. At ACT he also directed new works such as “Daisy,” “Alex and Aris” and “Hotter Than Egypt,” all of which have gone on to be produced at theaters around the country. He will direct Yussef El Guindi’s “People of the Book,” which made its world premiere at ACT in 2019, at New York City’s Urban Stages this fall.
Langs has been artistic director for Golden Mean Productions in Los Angeles and interim artistic director for Maui Onstage. He has also served as guest faculty and guest artist at The Studios of Seattle, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington in Seattle and the Skirball-Kenis In-School Playwrights Program in Los Angeles. He has been an associate artist at New Century Theatre Company in Seattle and Seattle Shakespeare Company and an associate director for Neurotic Young Urbanites in Los Angeles.
About the School of Drama at UNCSA
The School of Drama at UNCSA is ranked No. 3 on the list of the “Top 25 Drama Schools in the World” by The Hollywood Reporter, and second among B.F.A. programs on the list. Frequently ranked as one of the best drama schools in the world, the school prepares talented young artists for successful careers on stage, online, and in film and television. Conservatory training grounded in classical values adds technical skills to shape creatively inspired and versatile actors who are in-demand in today’s evolving entertainment landscape. Students perform constantly in both small workshops and major productions across the theatrical repertory. An outstanding resident faculty gives personal attention to their students’ growth. Students receive invaluable on-camera training, and opportunities to explore creative entrepreneurship while offered coveted exposure to industry professionals in the major hubs of the entertainment industry in America.
UNCSA’s prominent School of Drama alumni include Mary-Louise Parker (“Fried Green Tomatoes”), Billy Magnussen (“No Time to Die,” “Aladdin”); Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”); Jake Lacy (“The White Lotus”); Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Civil War”); Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”); Anthony Mackie (“Captain America” franchise); Isaac Powell (“West Side Story”); Joe Mantello (“Wicked”); Krys Marshall (“For All Mankind”); Elizabeth Lail (“Gossip Girl,” “You”); Dane DeHaan (“Oppenheimer,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”); Diedrich Bader (“Veep,” “American Housewife”); and Orin Wolf (producer of Broadway’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Tony Award-winning producer of “The Band’s Visit”) among many others.
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April 25, 2024