Company of Fools hires Illana Becker
By SUN STAFF
Illana Becker, a theater director and producer, was appointed to the new position of associate artistic director for the Company of Fools, replacing Denise Simone. Company of Fools and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts conducted a national search that yielded more than 80 qualified applicants
In her new role, Becker will assist newly promoted COF artistic firector John Glenn and contribute to The Center’s education initiatives and BIG IDEA programs. Glenn, who was recently honored with the 2016 Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, assumed leadership of Company of Fools following Simone’s departure.
“In this new role, we were looking for someone with a depth of experience in directing and new project development, who also shares Company of Fools’ deep commitment to community and love of storytelling,” Glenn said. “Illana possesses all of these qualities, plus a whole lot more––tremendous passion, strong artistic relationships, a love of community and abundant energy. It gives us great joy to welcome her into the Fools’ family.”
As a New York City-based director for more than a decade, Becker has directed and developed new projects with numerous organizations, including New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, The Civilians, The Lark, The Flea Theater, Dixon Place, Columbia University, Barnard College, New York University, Disney/ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, Pittsburgh Fringe, FringeNYC, the Samuel French Festival, and The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s Young Playwrights Festival.
Becker looks forward to continuing “John and Denise’s mission to connect artists and audiences. I couldn’t be more thrilled to play a key role in this next chapter for Company of Fools and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts.”
Her experience is myriad. She’s a member of many theatrical groups, including The Civilians’ R&D Group, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, DirectorsLabChicago, Bastard Playground, Fresh Ground Pepper’s PlayGroup, a Playwrights Horizons Robert Moss Directing Fellow, an Emerging Leaders of New York Arts Fellow and an associate member of State Directors Choreography Society.
Becker has contributed to productions as associate director and assistant director on Broadway, off-Broadway, at the New York Musical Festival, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and with Woodshed Collective.
As a producer, Becker has led community-driven projects, including an environmental staging of “Waiting for Lefty” at the Hartley House; “Beer Plays,” an evening of short plays paired with craft beers; and “Around the Block,” an evening of investigative pieces inspired by and performed in five New York City neighborhoods. She is artistic director of “Argument Sessions,” an ongoing theatrical event series weaving verbatim U.S. Supreme Court transcripts with collaboratively created original material. Becker also previously served in artistic and tour management positions at Lincoln Center Education and All for One Theater, on the literary staff at Bret Adams, Ltd., and on the board of directors for The Other Side Intercultural Theatre.
Before making the move to the Wood River Valley, Becker will serve as Terry Kinney’s associate director for “The Babylon Line” by Richard Greenberg at Lincoln Center Theater; she will direct Neil Simon’s “Rumors” for Stevens Institute of Technology; and she will develop new plays by playwright Tori Keenan-Zelt.